Free Republic

If Americans want to know where to start helping their fellow citizens in need, the answer is not far away. They only have to put away their devices long enough to see it. #BlackoutTuesday on June 2 was a case study in performance solidarity gone wrong, writes Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah. “Why would a silent black square, with no black people in it, qualify as activism messaging?” she asks. “Many white people expressed that they just didn’t know what to do, they were petrified of posting the wrong thing, and this seemed like the best way to thread the...

This week, children may learn about that greedy man, Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge is selfish until ghosts scare him into thinking about others’ well-being, not just his own. Good for the ghosts. But the way Scrooge addresses others’ needs matters. Today’s advocates of equality, compassion, increased spending on education, health care, etc., say “we care” but demand that government do the work. Controlling other people with the power of government doesn’t prove you care. If you want to help the poor, clean the environment, improve the arts. Great! Please do. But if you are compassionate, then you’ll spend your own money...

The festivities and activities of this week are a reminder of the spirit and power of volunteers — one of the underlying strengths of America. Whether it be the World’s Biggest Fish Fry, Helping Hands, ministries, youth organizations or any of the other numerous activities in which local folks band together and give of our resources to help causes in which we personally believe, or people in need of our personal assistance, it is the voluntary opening of our hearts, wallets and calendars that make a community more than just a common ZIP code. Volunteering is not, of course, unique...

Ralph E. Moore Jr. doesn’t think twice about serving others. It is part of his daily life. “I deliberately chose a career to work with people who are poor and the working poor,” said Moore, a parishioner of St. Ann in Baltimore and the mentoring coordinator at The Adult Resource Center for the Living Classrooms Foundation in Baltimore. “As Catholics, (social ministry) is our history and for many people that’s who we are.” Moore was among the nearly 300 people who attended the 35th annual Archdiocesan Social Ministry Convocation March 8 at The Seton Keough High School in Baltimore. The...

Friends, We've got 45 days left to make Mitt our 45th president. Now more than ever, we need supporters like you to step up. Whether you pledge to make 45 phone calls, knock on 45 doors, or volunteer 4.5 hours a week -- your commitment and energy will help Mitt win this. This is the final sprint -- we ask you to commit like never before, for the next 45 days. Commit to Mitt today: http://www.mittromney.com/forms/make-mitt-45 This is the most important election of our lifetime -- and you can make the difference. Join us today! Thank you, Rich Beeson Political...

What is going on

Only in the Obama administration would a public official sanctioned for a form of malfeasance be honored as a speaker by the same organization that sanctioned him. It helps, of course, when he is a self-proclaimed Friend of the First Couple. It also doesn't hurt that the administration already found it politically convenient to fire the inspector general, Gerald Walpin, who blew the whistle on his misdeeds.Still, the public should consider it a brazen affront for this administration to feature Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson as a key speaker at a major conference sponsored later this month by the Corporation for...

SAN FRANCISCO -- First Lady Michelle Obama will be in San Francisco on Monday to deliver the keynote address to the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. More than 4,000 national and international volunteer and service leaders are expected for the three-day conference at the Moscone Center. The event also kicks off United We Serve, a national call to community service from President Obama.

Passed the House, Passed the Senate, and outlawed Religion for those in 'volunteer' programs: last week, the House passed the Serve America Act (SAA), which will triple the number of federally funded "volunteer" positions, create a "Clean Energy Corps" to weatherize homes, and make September 11th a "National Day of Service." Like many federal assaults on the taxpayer, the SAA is a bipartisan offense: It passed by huge margins in both houses. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-MA, the primary sponsor, got a standing ovation after the vote was in, and co-sponsor Orrin Hatch, the Utah Republican, gushed that "the whole Kennedy...

I just returned from a Feed My Starving Childen meal packing event in Mt Prospect, IL (NW Suburb of Chicago). What a wonderful time had by all and such a worthy cause.

Americans worked a median of 52 hours last year without pay. They’re called volunteers. Many organizations can’t survive without unpaid labor, and many people are glad to provide it. Sadly, though, data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate — the percentage of the population that volunteers — declined in 2007 from 2006. Volunteering also had fallen in 2006 from 2005. About 60.8 million Americans, age 16 and up, volunteered in 2007, compared with a high of 65.3 million in 2005. The proportion of that population that...

DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2006 -- While most Americans plan to spend the next few weeks eating, shopping and generally having a great time with friends and family, many Defense Department civilians will be leaving their homes and families for 6- to-12 month voluntary deployments to support Army and Air Force Exchange Service post and base exchanges throughout Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Friends for more than 25 years, graphic designers Gloria Michael and Kelly Northcutt have talked about deploying to live and work with the troops. With Michael getting closer to retirement, the two friends who live only...

It was one of the fore-runners of "Habitat for Humanity"; a way that those who had displaced the natives of this Northern Land could pay back something, and expiate a bit of guilt. I hadn't known it at the time, since I was stationed overseas, and hadn't the opportunity to watch my younger sister and her husband as they departed- as volunteers for Operation Beaver. This was an international effort- a coalition of like minded people who would spend time in Northern Ontario, organize themselves into small working parties, and build houses on a Native American Reserve for the indigenous...

Poles apart of charity boom JANE BRADLEY SCORES of Polish immigrants in the Capital are giving charities a massive boost - by offering their services for free. With many of the 20,000 Poles who have flocked to Edinburgh since the expansion of the EU working in unskilled jobs such as waitressing or labouring, many are turning to unpaid volunteering to improve skills and their chances of getting better jobs. Agency Volunteer Edinburgh, which matches people with opportunities, has seen around 35 eastern Europeans turn up at their Queensferry Street Lane offices every month to offer their help. While most want...

Seeing as its the start of the holiday season, I was interested in compiling a thread for fellow conservatives to utilize when donating their time or money for a good cause. There's the obvious examples of the Boy Scouts or the Salvation Army but if you know of a not so well known but deserving conservative charity that could use some help let me and others know. After the whole 9-11 Red Cross disgrace one can be forgiven for being leery of throwing money or time aorund.