Novel ideas for charitable giving, share yours.

mickeyrat

Clearly this isnt my idea but I ran across this and wanted to share. It also gave rise to wondering what else might be possible thats out of the norm?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/08/saudi-man-poor-charity-fridge_n_5290533.html

Sometimes, making a difference can be shockingly simple.

A man living in the city of Hail, Saudi Arabia, came up with a brilliant idea to feed needy people in his neighborhood while sparing them the "shame" of begging, according to Gulf News.

The man, who wishes to remain anonymous, installed a refrigerator on the street in front of his house and invited neighbors to donate their extra food, so that hungry people could come and eat.

The idea gained international attention after religious scholar Shaikh Mohammad Al Araifi praised the act of charity on his Twitter account with a picture of the fridge. "I've always said the people of Hail are generous. A man puts a fridge outside his house for leftover food; an indirect act of charity for the needy," he said, in a translation provided by the BBC. "Oh how I love you, Hail!"

Twitter applauded the simple gesture. “That is exactly what we needed: A simple, but bright idea that goes a long way in helping people,” posted user Sniper, according to Gulf News. “The idea should now be adopted and all large mosques in the country should place fridges to take and distribute food."

The Muslim holy month of fasting, Ramadan, will begin at the end of June. Bahraini national Salah told Gulf News that the charity fridge concept should be adopted in Bahrain during Ramadan. "It is a great act of charity that can make many people happy and satisfied,” he said. “There is the food factor, but there is also the spiritual dimension, especially during the sacred month when people engage deeply in acts of charity."

Godfather.

wow what a great idea !

Godfather.

mickeyrat

Godfather. said:

wow what a great idea !

Godfather.

not trying to start anything with you or anyone else, but in my opinion, THIS is the true face of Islam. But that thought is not the reason for posting in the first place.

Title is why......now what have YOU folks got?

brianlux

This really is a cool idea. It reminds me of stories I've heard from my wife and another good friend who have both visited Fiji. From what I gather, in Fiji the native Islanders there pretty much share everything. I'm not sure it would be easy for most of us to live like that- I mean these people take from each other what they need and we are mostly a people used to much more privacy. It makes sense to live their way though.

I like the idea of keeping a power bar or in the summer bottled water to give to the folks who wait at stop lights with cardboard signs asking for money. Last year I had some Hershey's kisses in my console and every time I passed one of these folks I gave them a few instead of money and their response was always very positive. That seems like such a pathetically small thing to do but if it makes someone happy I guess it's not a bad thing.

backseatLover12

I like this thread.

Jason P

Sad thing is that in most US cities that fridge would be stolen and put on ebay within a couple days ....

Jason P

Jason P said:

Sad thing is that in most US cities that fridge would be stolen and put on ebay within a couple days .... or the health department would confiscate it and fine you ...

Jason P

frick'n F5 ...

mickeyrat

Jason P said:

Jason P said:

Sad thing is that in most US cities that fridge would be stolen and put on ebay within a couple days .... or the health department would confiscate it and fine you ...

Jason P said:

frick'n F5 ...

interesting, I wonder if there is an edit feature?
:-?

hedonist

I can't remember specifically where out here this is, but there's a local community (hopefully more) that has a garden rife with vegetables, fruit trees and the like, that's open to anyone who needs or wants coming by and taking some for free.

I've also read stories about folks leaving stacks of scarves and blankets out for those who needed them during the past brutal winter.

I try to do my part, albeit on a smaller scale as Brian mentioned. It still makes a difference - I think it all does.

PS...Hail Hail to Hail! I'm glad it works for that city's people, and I admire the anonymity desired by the generous person who thought up the idea.

mickeyrat

hedonist said:

I can't remember specifically where out here this is, but there's a local community (hopefully more) that has a garden rife with vegetables, fruit trees and the like, that's open to anyone who needs or wants coming by and taking some for free.

I've also read stories about folks leaving stacks of scarves and blankets out for those who needed them during the past brutal winter.

I try to do my part, albeit on a smaller scale as Brian mentioned. It still makes a difference - I think it all does.

PS...Hail Hail to Hail! I'm glad it works for that city's people, and I admire the anonymity desired by the generous person who thought up the idea.

I heard about that once , underutilized fruit trees and avocados?

yeah , thats a gift of charity that encourages others too and provides an outlet too. Hope this is a continuing thing.

brianlux

This kind of relates to what Hedonist and mickeyrat are talking about above:

I've often thought it would be fun and satisfying to do something like what Senior Gleaners did when they first organized. This is from their web site history page:

Senior Gleaners Inc. (Food Bank) began operations in Sacramento in 1976 when thirty like-minded seniors saw people going hungry while millions of pounds of un-harvested food were being wasted in farmers’ fields, orchards, and in people’s back yards. Together they began gleaning leftover fruits and vegetables and shared it with the poor. They quickly organized into a grassroots operation naming themselves Senior Gleaners.

From what I understand, they are more about distributing surplus bulk food which is great but I kind of like the actual gleaning part. Doing this assumes a lot on my part- that is that my back and arthritis don't get the best of me first- but even just doing a little of this some day would be helpful and satisfying work.

http://seniorgleaners.org/