This post comes at a time when many of you are giving gifts to friends and family for Christmas, Hanukah, or some other occasions. But for the team at A.R.E. it is also a chance to encourage you to think about how your giving makes a difference beyond your immediate circle of family and friends. We want to encourage you to give to causes that touch your heart and further your passions for the world around us. Here’s a list of the places that A.R.E. is giving ten percent of our proceeds this year.
Our team talked together about where we felt the most passion and impact would come in ways that helped us express some of our priorities as a team. Each of us already tithe ten percent or more of our personal income and most of that goes through the church. So this was a chance to broaden the mix of groups we support to express some added priorities on top of that personal giving. And we decided that three areas we cared most about would be grouped into economic development, education and the environment.
Here’s where we gave with links so you can see if there is something that interests you too:
EDUCATION
The Southern Poverty Law Center is committed to equality and civil rights and is especially focused on preventing hate from shaping the world. Their Teaching Tolerance Project is providing a variety of resources and curriculum for multicultural education.
New Leaders for New Schools provides intensive instruction, hands-on experience, and ongoing support to create a pathway for current and former educators to become outstanding principals who achieve dramatic results in urban public schools.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Kiva has a mission to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. You can loan money to a small business owner through their web site and get updates when the loans are repaid (then you can make a loan to someone else!).
Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging leaders to end hunger at home and abroad. By changing policies, programs and conditions that allow hunger and poverty to persist, they work to equip people provide help and opportunity far beyond the communities in which they live. They work by providing advocacy and resources to involve citizens in the decisions that affect poverty and hunger in our world.
ENVIRONMENT
Lutheran Disaster Response is a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. They seek to demonstrate Christ's compassion for people by promoting hope, healing, and wholeness for disaster survivors. The team at A.R.E. is giving here with a particular eye toward natural weather disasters that seems to be increasing due to climate change and global warming.
The Environmental Law and Policy Center is committed to protecting the Midwest’s environmental and natural heritage. They work in ways that protect water and natural places, deal with issues of climate change and global warming, and also try to support the development of eco-business and environmentally friendly transportation with a focus on the Great Lakes and Great Plains states.
This is our list and we are excited to be able to share it with you. But your list is just as important. What are you passionate about? How are you giving and getting involved to support those causes. Make your list and be generous – you can be a part of changing the world!
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