Free Republic

As many families gather for this splendid holiday feast, there are too many others who in the year suffer the American equivalent of hunger. This is more like deprivation and thankfully not the clinical malnutrition and starvation it is in the Third World. At the same time, this super-rich nation is also battling what is described as an epidemic of overweight and obesity. Obesity, according to the experts, is mushrooming faster than any other health problem. If not slowed down, it will exact $344 billion in health care costs in 2018. By that time 43 percent of Americans, or 103...

Forget buying a ton of gifts. A week before Thanksgiving, the holidays are shaping up as a season of no frills. And for some, the joy of family time and gift-giving has been replaced this year by a quest for basic necessities as more jobs are lost and unemployment benefits start to expire. Michigan, with one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at 14.8 percent in September, has a food crisis going into the holiday season. "We have people coming to the food bank who said they were donating to us last year, but who are now out...

Christian Children's Fund is changing its name to ChildFund International. The board of directors of the worldwide relief organization voted this week on the change as part of a new strategy. The new name aims to reflect the charity's worldwide reach and its affiliation with the ChildFund Alliance, a coalition that includes 11 other international organizations that help children living in poverty. Chief executive Anne Lyman Goddard said Friday that the name change, which takes effect July 1, will standardize the ChildFund name globally among groups that work to connect donors to programs that help children. "Now working under different...

I was recently delighted to learn that Ave Maria University was the recipient of a Four Million dollar ($4,000,000.) gift from a man named Tom Golisano. The first words which came into my heart upon reading the news were from St. Paul, “Rejoice with those who rejoice…” (Romans 12:15) I am convinced that the most important work being done in this new missionary age is the preparation of the next generation of faithful, well educated young Catholic men and women, prepared to respond to the call to every Christian vocation and to participate in the mission of the Church. It...

Sarah Palin is rolling her "Going Rogue" book tour into Fort Hood, the site of the Nov. 5 shooting that left 13 dead and dozens wounded. "I'm especially looking forward to meeting our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Hood," Palin, 45, wrote on her Facebook page. She'll be at the base on Dec. 4. "I'm joining the efforts of many others by donating my royalties from the book sales during our stop at Fort Hood to the families of the victims whose lives have been forever changed by the tragic events of November 5th," she wrote.

hat's because while Goldman traders regularly have the Midas touch when it comes to the firm's own fortunes, they seem to have a penchant for capital destruction when it came to the management of its charitable holdings. Sure, 2008 was an unusually tough year, but the filing shows that the Goldman Sachs Foundation managed to vaporize more than $100 million in assets in 2008, even as it executed thousands of trades on everything from obscure stock indexes to commodities to hedge funds. As a result, foundation assets fell by nearly a third last year For all this, the Goldman Foundation...

Part of the story about who would feel the payroll tax on employers contained in the House-passed health care bill has gone missing. The media coverage I've seen and the Congressional rhetoric I've heard focuses on the small business lead by an entrepreneur who started the company. That's part of the story, but it isn't the whole story. The Joint Tax Committee's "technical explanation" makes clear that this is a tax on all employers, both for-profit and not-for-profit. (See the discussion that starts on page 31, under the opaque title "Responsibilities of Nonelecting Employers".) A lot of non-profits do not...

Now more than ever the soldiers of Fort Hood, Texas need help. Many of our service men and women return home from Afghanistan or Iraq to face financial crisis, foreclosure and lack. "Operation Once In A Lifetime" is an organization dedicated to helping those returning to Fort Hood who are in need.

When did we as a society decide that compassion and benevolence are only possible through government mandates? Maybe it comes down to the Philosophy 101 question "are people inherently good or evil?". I and many conservatives tend to be optimists, but Pelosi knows you are inherently evil. One thing I can guarantee to you is that government is inherently wasteful. Here's an idea: take that $1-2 trillion that was going to be used on Obamacare and give it back to the people! Incentivize charitable donations, reward people with tax breaks for helping the less fortunate, make charity more affordable for...

There is much talk and discussion today about helping the poor and downtrodden here in the USA. The only true way to help individuals break free from the tyrannical cycle of poverty, however, is a Conservatism that is rooted in Biblical, Judean/ Christian truths and absolutes. Such values bestow upon these individuals a sense of reality and purpose in what otherwise would be a meaningless, “burned out” existence. Historically, Judean/ Christian values have been the only true advocate and hope for the poor since the fall of man (see Genesis 3:17-19). The word charity - as taught in the Bible...

Memories of children crying over confiscated Christmas toys still upset the Rev. Tom Hill. Hill, a former Giving Tree volunteer, also remains baffled by the diapers. There were boxes and boxes in storage, he said, and yet Giving Tree Director Libby Wright resisted handing them out to mothers in her program. Wright often said food was in short supply when she sought donations, Hill said, even after he discovered Wright was storing large amounts in one of her organization's homes. Wright declined an interview request for this story. Hill, who now runs his own food program for the homeless, said...

Tomorrow millions of children across America will be putting on their scariest costumes and going door to door asking for candy. Its that Halloween time of the year once again. An whether you are a parent or not, or whether your children go "trick or treating" or not, I guarantee that your house is going to be swarmed by lots of little ghosts, goblins, spider-men and Pink Power Rangers. Many of the visitors will be carrying the little orange UNICEF boxes, when you see them give up the candy, but please DON'T GIVE ANY MONEY TO UNICEF !! UNICEF money...

For more than 70 years, the Stella Fuller Settlement has been ultimate “helping hand”, but now the organization is making some big changes. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ-TV) -- For more than 70 years, the Stella Fuller Settlement has been ultimate helping hand in Huntington, but now the organization is making some big changes. According to board of director's president Robert Agee, the building that houses the organization is beyond repair. That is why the organization has decided to sell the building and the property and help out the needy with the funds. He says trying to keep the building going with...

I used to have a job that felt like Divine Grace. Since I was raised secular, it was as close to a religious experience as I had ever had. I was fresh out of graduate school in my late 20s, working with black foster families and relatives in dicey areas of Oakland. Not a day went by that I didn't cry -- and not just because of the sorrowful plight of the kids. I'd never been around people like this before, who loved God, who praised Jesus, who lived to serve him. In retrospect, I think my tears came because...

As we enter the holiday season I would like to encourage you to consider starting a new tradition in your family. Seeing as how Christmas is all about the birth of Christ and not any of us I have been a little baffled as to why we get the gifts. Now I am not trying to take away from the childrens excitement. However, this could be the year to start a new tradition that teaches and encourages missions and giving...

(edit)Accounts filed at the Charity Commission show that the Government paid a total of £113,411 last year to a foundation run by senior members and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir — a notorious Islamic extremist group that ministers promised to ban. (edit) Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, last night described the disclosure as “astonishing and outrageous” and accused the Government of “sleeping on the job”. Hizb regards integration as “dangerous” and says that British Muslims should “fight assimilation” into British society. It wants to create a global Islamic superstate, or “caliphate”, initially in Muslim-majority countries and then across the rest...

For many years an important part of our family’s Christmas celebration has been giving the gift of farm animals to folks in the third world.  My kids (now from 6-12)  gather some of their money saved from jobs and  received as gifts for birthdays and holidays and in a family meeting we sit down with  a catalog from Heifer International http://www.heifer.org/ , a charity that got its start and specializes in  providing farm animals to families in the third world. As their website and older literature states “Heifer International is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help end world...

Former US president Jimmy Carter will head to Asia next month to lead thousands of volunteers building homes for the poor in five nations along the Mekong River, a humanitarian group said on Tuesday. The volunteers for Habitat for Humanity will build or repair 166 homes in Cambodia, China, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam on the November 15-20 tour, the Atlanta-based Christian group said. "In an area of the world where many people live in deplorable conditions, we have a chance to help families improve their housing," the 85-year-old former president said in a statement. The project will start in Thailand's...

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The lights inside Rupp Arena had been off for 20 minutes, but Patrick Patterson wasn’t ready to leave. Not as long as there were still pictures to take, he said. Not as long as there were autographs to sign and fans to meet – especially the 4-year-old who had waited more than an hour after the game to talk to her favorite Kentucky basketball player. As Patterson reached over the rail to sign the girl’s program, a security guard grabbed him by the arm and directed him toward the tunnel. Rupp Arena was officially closed, the man...

Goldman Sachs is considering donating in excess of $1bn (£627m) to charity in an attempt to quell the growing furore over the likely size of its 2009 bonus pot. The investment bank which is set to report its results for the three months to September on Thursday, is understood to be giving serious thought to some form of large philanthropic donation. The aim of the donation, first disclosed by Henry Blodget's Business Insider blog, would be to deflect the likely row come at the end of the year. By then Goldman's total compensation pot is expected to be a record...

The independence of American charities has steadily eroded in recent years as more philanthropic institutions have come to see their mission as one of partnership or collaboration with the government. That’s a nice way of saying, “seeking government dough.” Now, in the throes of a severe economic crisis and budget cutbacks at state and local levels, many charities are in a panic about reduced levels of funding. Anyone with eyes to see could have seen this coming.A recent report in The Chronicle of Philanthropy spoke of a California budget crisis where “charities there are braced for steep cuts to social...

Because of caring people and a caring company, a terminally ill little Green Forest girl was flown home Friday by air ambulance from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, so she can spend her last days surrounded by the people who love her most. Jada Harper, who turned seven on Sept. 1, has an inoperable malignant tumor in her brain and is in a coma with a ventilator doing her breathing for her. She has been at the famous cancer center in Houston since July, but her situation is now at the point not much else can be done...

Famed for building homes for the poor from scratch, Habitat for Humanity sees a silver lining to thousands of foreclosed homes available for a pittance. ___ Shanta Brown, a nursing assistant in Charlotte, N.C., walked through her soon-to-be home in August, pointing out favorite features — the living room's vaulted ceiling, two full baths and new black countertops she chose for durability. In a few minutes, Brown would stand outside the front door and cut a ribbon, dedicating the first house in Habitat for Humanity Charlotte's ambitious new effort to rehab homes in neighborhoods decimated by foreclosures. Across the country,...

CNN) – The seats Barack and Michelle Obama sat in while watching a Broadway play during a "date" in New York City are now on the auction block for charity. The money will go to Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS. According to their Web site, Broadway Cares is "the nation's leading industry-based, not-for-profit AIDS fundraising and grant making organization." The seats – K101 and K102 – belonged to the Belasco Theater, the second oldest house on Broadway that is currently being renovated. The Obamas saw the show "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" in late May as part of a...

September 17, 2009: Rush Limbaugh has donated $500,000 to the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles in memory of Antonio De la Cruz, MD, who treated Limbaugh beginning in 2001 for the sudden hearing loss due to auto-immune inner ear disease. Limbaugh ultimately had a cochlear implant to restore his hearing and told the Los Angeles Times recently , "Dr. De la Cruz literally saved my career and got me my life back with that surgery. I wouldn't have been able to continue my career For a month before I had the implant surgery, I did my show totally deaf."...

On Tuesday, September 8, the first annual Ride 2 Recovery eBay Charity Auction will begin and run for 10 days. The highlight of the auction will be a dinner experience with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  The mission of Ride 2 Recovery is to improve the health and wellness of wounded heroes by providing a life changing experience that can impact their lives forever. The money raised from this effort will go to support the participation of wounded heroes in the R2R program and events, purchase bikes, helmets, and other technical equipment required for the wounded heroes. Please go to...

(T)he comedian himself who looked to be the real athlete after covering 1,100 miles on foot in 51 days, and seeing his split times plummet along the way.

SNIPPET: "According to a report prepared by Pakistani police (the Crime Investigation Department), the AHF has funded approximately USD 15 million to Jihadi groups in Pakistan for carrying out terror attacks. These funds mostly went to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which is responsible for numerous suicide strikes in the last couple of years and also blamed for the assassination of Benezir Bhutto." SNIPPET: "Till 2004, the United States had designated at least thirteen AHF branch offices operating in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, in many African countries and in the United States. But in 2008, the US Treasury Department has designated...

Treasury Department officials have yet to say whether they will appeal on Ohio judge's ruling that their 2006 asset freeze against an Islamic charity violated the group's due process rights. Treasury officials accuse KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development of taking over fundraising for Hamas in the United States after the government forced the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) to shut down in 2001. That action was upheld by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. HLF and five officials subsequently were indicted and convicted of illegally funneling more than $12 million to Hamas. The freeze of KindHearts bore...

100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing experience that can impact their lives forever. He just posted on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/karlrove?ref=nf I'm participating in a charity auction to benefit wounded warriors. Bid on a private lunch for three (3) with me at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. 100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose... mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing...

No local news about 2009 MDA telethon.

Reeling in the grip of an economic depression, American taxpayers might reconsider gifts they bestow that serve no American interests. For example, nearly a billion dollars in aid given to Hamas Jihadist terrorists in Gaza, ostensibly for rebuilding, is used for whatever purposes Hamas decides – to further Jihad. This is in addition to billions that American taxpayers have already poured into the Palestinian Authority with little or nothing to show for it. Photos of "Palestinian policemen" (many of whom are members of terrorist militias) parading in new uniforms belie the reality: they have failed to stop terrorism. Trained and...

Despite the effects of an uncertain economy, contributions and pledges to the 44th annual Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon over Labor Day nonetheless totaled $60,481,231 million. MDA National Chairman and Telethon star Jerry Lewis said he was impressed by the show of support from Telethon viewers even during hard times. "These are very special people, and their money comes straight from the heart," Lewis said. "Right now, the only thing I can think of to say, other than thank you, thank you is, 'love conquers all.' So many people, everywhere, even with cares of their own, dug deep to show their...

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 27, 2009 – Fire up the barbies, and the flat screen TVs and join comedy legend Jerry Lewis for his 44th annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon this Labor Day weekend, Sept. 6-7. “I’m determined to keep fighting for a cure for muscular dystrophy because my kids deserve to live long and healthy lives,” said Lewis, MDA’s national chairman and Telethon star.

A true once in a lifetime event, the winner of this celebrity auction will spend a memorable evening having dinner with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd. Sarah Palin has graciously donated her time to help raise money for the Wounded Warriors Ride 2 Recovery program Sarah whose son, Track, enlisted in the Army on September 11, 2007, is serving in Iraq. Sarah herself recently returned from a trip to Kosovo visiting her Alaska National Guard troops and from Germany where she visited wounded warriors. Ride 2 Recovery is a program that helps wounded troops rehabilitate their...

Due to the economy and weak real estate market, Miles Brannan is raffling off his luxury home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The raffle is attracting buyers from around the world due to both the appealing price of $10 per ticket and international interest in U.S. real estate. Brannan's raffle is a great deal for foreign investors who want to break into the market because the deed and title will be transferred to the lucky winner free and clear. There will be no need for a jumbo mortgage or creative financing, making the $10 investment an even more attractive offer. "The...

"The Democrats did not lose Congress in 1994 because they failed to pass health care reform. They lost Congress in 1994 because they failed to rally the public behind health care reform. Had Democrats successfully sold Clintoncare to the public and then passed it, their majorities might have been saved. But had Democrats gone ahead and passed it anyway, under the conditions that existed in summer of 1994, their losses likely would have been even greater" "1994 was fundamentally a culling of Democrats who were too liberal for their Republican-leaning districts. Republicans defeated 34 incumbents that year." "There were two...

Rock icon Bob Dylan will sing the old yuletide standards "Winter Wonderland" and "Little Drummer Boy" on his first ever Christmas album, with royalties going to charity, his record label said on Wednesday. Dylan's "Christmas in the Heart" album is due out on October 13, nearly six months after the release of his last studio album, "Together Through Life," which topped the charts. Speculation about the Christmas album began surfacing a few months ago, but were initially met with disbelief by some Dylan aficionados, as the singer was not known to record Christmas songs, and his latest albums have featured...

Yousef Abdallah's annual Ramadan duties promise to be tougher than usual this year. The Islamic holy month is expected to start tonight, so the Northeast operations manager for Islamic Relief USA, one of the nation's largest Islamic charities, and his staff are preparing to travel from his office on Route 46 in Totowa to about 80 mosques across the region, seeking donations. But Abdallah knows the down economy means people have less money to give this year. He also knows that many Muslims already donated to Islamic Relief in 2009, during fundraising campaigns targeted to help people in the Gaza...

It's honorable and commendable to give freely out of one's own resources to charity, and Americans are the most generous people on the face of the planet. Americans contribute six or seven times more than some of our European counterparts. Charity is reaching into one's own pockets to help someone in need. Is it charity to reach into someone else's pocket to help someone in need? Is the federal government your brother's keeper? Is it charity if the giving is taken from someone else's pocket under the ultimate threat of force?

When government steps outside the bounds of its proper authority, the consequences can be devastating. Too often we’re told that increasing the size and scope of government programs is compassionate or beneficial to society. But in the end, there is nothing compassionate or beneficial about government meddling in the private affairs of a free people. The Cash for Clunkers fiasco is just the latest example—in an interminable list—of government’s “unintended consequences” and their destructive impact. To incentivize behavior that government deems good or constructive, programs such as Cash for Clunkers are established. The $4,500 voucher given to new car purchasers...

Supporters of a women's refuge were 'shocked and stunned' to be told it is being closed - because it does not cater for men. The emergency shelter was set up 13 years ago for women and children and adult males are not allowed to stay. But council officials have now ruled that, because it does not serve both sexes equally, the money used to run the home would be better spent on an 'outreach service' to help battered husbands as well as wives in their own homes. Brian Ellis, a councillor who helped set up the refuge in Weymouth, Dorset,...

Vehicles already were lined up for one of the weekly auto auctions benefiting Texans Can, a charity that helps at-risk teenagers and their families, when prospective donors started to call, saying they had changed their minds. "They said they went ahead and traded it in for the 'cash-for-clunkers' program," said Cheryl Rios, vice president of the Dallas-based charity that serves as many as 6,000 students. She estimates Texas Can already has lost $75,000 to the federal program. While "cash-for-clunkers" has been a huge hit with car buyers looking to snap up rebates of up to $4,500 for trading in gas-guzzlers...

'Cash for Clunkers' takes toll on local charities SAN DIEGO - The parking lot used by Father Joe Carroll's car donation program used to be filled with nearly 1,000 aging vehicles. Now it is almost empty. "I feel good for the dealerships making money, but I feel miserable that it will affect my help with the poor," Father Joe said. While many dealerships are thriving thanks to the Cash for Clunkers program, several local charities are taking a hit, because they rely on donated old cars to raise money for their services. "About 20 to 25 percent of our funding...

The popular Cash for Clunkers program maybe stimulating the U.S. economy, but it's also apparently driving down revenue for one North Texas non-profit organization. With more and more people trading in their 'clunkers' for federal rebates, the Texas Can Academy is having to shift gears, to find some much needed cash. The organization encouraging you to "Write-Off The Car, Not The Kid," is itself in jeopardy of being written off. "This right here is the heartbeat of the organization. I need to make this money so these kids can be in our campuses. That's a lot of students who aren't...

TAMPA - A woman caught taking about $70 worth of items at a Sweetbay Supermarket last week said she did it for her children. So instead of arresting her, a Tampa police officer paid for the diapers, formula and other baby care products the woman was accused of taking. He even threw in a couple of sandwiches.

Outside Goodwill's As-Is Store in San Francisco, a family of Salvadoran immigrants leaves with a bag of clothes they will sell to supplement the money they make sweeping floors and washing cars. Inside, shoppers sift through tall blue bins. A man in a pin-striped suit drapes the blazers he's found over his arm. Business is up at the Goodwill As-Is warehouse on the corner of 11th and Mission streets, where struggling vendors and frugal shoppers buy goods, including in bulk at auction, at discounted prices. "Because of the economy I can't afford a lot," said Chelsea Cooley, 23, who can't...

Now we know why the President of the United States is such a good friend of Harvard Professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates, the professor (scheduled for a White House beer-fest on Thursday, runs a charity that, until it was caught, mis-reported salaries as research grants. Heck with problems like this he could be a Presidential appointee.

One of the sneaky acts President Obama likes to pull when he is confronted on raising taxes to help the poor is to claim that what he is doing is the "community" thing to do. Sometimes he calls it the "neighborly" thing to do. He pulled this off in an interview with Bill O'Reilly back in September 2008 and he just pulled it off last week with Meredith Vieira on NBC's Today Show. On the O'Reilly clip it is roughly 6:00 in, and he uses the word "neighborly". On the Vieira clip, it is roughly 6:30 in, and he uses...

Henry Louis Gates, Jr controls a tax-exempt, non-profit charity, Inkwell Foundation, Inc, that managed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct support in one year, yet only gave out $27,500 in grants, the bulk of which went to Gates' employees and Harvard colleagues. Also, as recently as September 2008, the Boston Globe reported that Gates' charity was not in compliance with the law for failing to register the proper paperwork, despite the charity existing since 2005. The charge at the time was that it was "bogus," as you'll see below. In fact, the state Attorney General's office told...