behind the scenes of the Just Posts

The January Just Posts, the last anniversary gift of my social justice marriage to Mad are on the horizon. And while we've got some exciting news to unveil on the 12th, we thought we'd seize the opportunity to give you a glimpse of what has gone on behind the scenes over these past two years. The following string of emails starts in early November and ends in mid-December.

Jen: am probably getting ahead of myself but I can't help it. There's an organization in South Africa that Helena is involved with that needs our help and I was thinking of doing a call to action to raise some money. But if you aren't down with this I can do it on my own and tie it into the JPs in the piece that I write. i realize i'm getting all renegade and don't want to speak for both of us. but damn, they are only asking for $1.71 per kid to ensure they each have what they need for Xmas.

Mad: Jen, I appreciate your enthusiasm but I can't do this. I just can't. I am so swamped with work, volunteer and home projects right now that I am hardly reading anyone's blogs at all. I don't feel comfortable asking people for money at the best of times but given how bad a blog a citizen I've been these last few months, I feel especially uncomfortable about it all right now. Besides, such a call to action requires a commitment to blogging that I have lost. I can scarce muster the energy for a post or two a week. To be on the ball enough--in December no less--for a joint fundraiser? Nuh uh. I also can't see myself asking people for money during a recession at Christmas. That's all there is to it.

Jen: I understand. I do. It's totally fine. Sorry to barrage you with this. I can do it and not make it an official part of the JPs. I know the recession is scary. It's terrifying me in particular for poor people. Non profits are closing programs even as more people are in need. We've seen many NEW faces needing help every month. Every month. New. It's staggering.
I love you. Sorry for being pushy. I mean it.

THREE WEEK TIME LAPSE

Jen: The activist side of me says we can get one more community fundraising project done with our last hurrah. sorry i can't help myself. but we could. don't kick me.

Mad: Here are my thoughts on community fundraising: When we did the Just Post fundraiser in June 2007, I gave $100 to the small community fundraising project you advocated. (I think I gave some to it and some to Stephen Lewis, I can't remember exactly.) As far as the Stephen Lewis foundation goes, that org is not a one-off for me. I will continue to give to it over the years for a whole host of reasons most of which have to do with social justice but some of which are more practical, like getting a tax receipt and knowing that I can always find out its profile as a charitable org.

The group you advocated was a one-off donation for me. B/c it's an American org, I can't budget my giving b/c it is always contingent upon the value of my dollar. I get no tax receipt to help maximize my gift, and it's not as easy to keep track of the organization. The problem with one-off gifts, though, is that the organization in question never believes any gift is a one-off. In the year and a half since I gave to said organization, I have received numerous funding requests from them. Each one has spent at least $2 American in postage--not to mention the costs of printing promotional material and photographs. This organization may have heart but it is not very well run administratively: just last week I received, all on the same day, 4 identical, huge envelopes promoting their Christmas campaign. The cost in postage alone was more than $14 US. By now, they have spent as much, if not more, than my original gift simply trying to woo me back. This breaks my heart b/c it feels as if I simply threw my money out the window when I could have invested it more wisely closer to home.

So -- fundraising. It is my fervent belief that if we are going to ask people for money, we should encourage them to pick an organization that they believe in and then ask them to take the leap to becoming an ongoing supporter. Who can't afford $10 or $20 a month deducted regularly from their account or put on their VISA? (I'm sure most of our readers do some form of this anyway.) This kind of giving is the only sure fire way to maximize the impact of the giving. If we were to ask that and then ask people to name the org and write a post about it, we could have a right proper send off next month WITH a lasting legacy. Just trying to be astute and not a killjoy. What think you?

Jen:You've nailed some of the principle laments of NPOs. We must keep asking. We ask and ask and ask and sometimes, yes, it costs more to ask than sometimes we receive. I suppose I'll forever fall into the camp of grassroots organizing. If it might cost $200 to house a child for a year in South Africa, then we can all give $10 and get it done without a major impact on any one person. Plus we collectively stood up against that issue.

And I suppose it frustrates me when folks say they have no money. They say they have no money in their nice car with their latte. They say they have no money as they buy four gifts instead of two. Some people really have no money, their budget keeps them housed and fed and that is literally and only all there is. I know this too.

People are dying every single day because we all have our heads up our asses in terms of resources distribution. We can't solve any of that b/c we get 30 people to give $5. I know this too.

One of the things that scares me a bit about our move is being broken hearted by new injustices of poverty in a 3rd world country. Sometimes I don't know how to manufacture my heart to beat any other way, I see the discrepancies and I literally feel I could go batshit crazy. I see my own hypocrisies and want to beat myself around the head. Last night I helped a mom w/ a four day old baby make a bed for herself on my concrete floor surrounded by 100 people from the streets. I had M with me so at first I think she thought I was staying there too. When I said to her that it was time to go she looked at me and said "you aren't staying?". So my 4-yr-old daughter asked if we could spend the night and yet I knew I would never, ever allow it and if I truly wanted to I could have let these people sleep at my house too. Instead her baby slept on the concrete floor wrapped in old blankets. He is four days into this world in the fucking united states of america. We drove home in a car with heat and had a snack with food from our fridge and went to bed in our home. He slept on the floor.

This work of mine has colored me. I like to think it's been for the best but i really do not know. You are balance. You can see the world in a way that I struggle to. It's more pragmatic. My way is an inconsistent albatross. It's a long way of saying I hear you. I do. And your way is a good way. Folks choose how they want if they want where they want and it's good.

Mad: Yes. Folks choose where they want to give BUT WE INSIST THAT THEIR GIFT BE SIGNIFICANT AND ONGOING. We can even recommend orgs that we believe in. It is the only way. What we should do, Jen, is post these email exchanges. Your heart and your dire f-ing reality vs my pragmatic head. We've walked a tightrope with this for two years straight. I think the Just Posts have been made better by the way we balance each other out. We have both changed considerably b/c of our conversations off-blog. Let's say goodbye by making those conversations, that struggle, public.

Jen: I'm in.

Dear Readers, What say you? Are you a pragmatist or a Heart of Gold? Or are you some other kind of hybrid altogether? Will you join us in becoming an ongoing financial supporter of a cause you believe in? Will you write about it on your blogs or in your tweets? Will you help to raise money AND the profile of organizations that desperately need aid?

And that's what we are asking for as our farewell gift. Send us your link by the 8th and we'll include it in our last Just Post Roundtable on the 12th. You can send your links to me at girlplustwo(at)yahooDOTcom.

Cross posted under Mad's hat.

opening our arms

When I decided to give Mad and all of the other social justice wedding brides an anniversary present to celebrate six months of Just Posts, I had no idea it what to expect. We set the goal of $1,000, thinking that that was quite a bit of money but also believing in what was possible. I had no idea how close we come. But as the week went on, I knew something amazing was unfolding.

Let us never allow anyone to downplay the power here. The collective ability to put our words into action, to come together to make a difference. In one ordinary week in June we managed to raise $1,555.00 for Open Arms and $1,170.00 for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. An amazing grand total of $2,725.00. And all our money will go in the hands of people working directly with children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

There were over 38 donors in all - and I know everyone gave exactly what they could afford. I wish you could see me sitting here, looking at all of you beaming like a cheshire cat. We Did This.

We. Did. This.

I also want to thank so many of you who also took the time to write a post in support of our efforts. Your words traveled round the blogosphere encouraging and asking others to do the same. I can't thank you enough, truly.

Christine with open your hearts
Lawyer Mama with six month anniversary present
Karen with coming up for air
KC with a non cold call to arms
Mary with unjust world
Meno with in which i violate spirit if not letter
Gwen with look like angelina jolie with just one click
Mary with keeping darkness at bay
Slouching Mom with care to contribute?
Jill with open hearts and open minds and thembelihle
Alejna with putting my money where my mouse is
Bon with a plague of tone deaf locusts and a ladder to the stars
Bad with shark has pretty teeth
Neen with a postful of bloggity goodness
Hel with speaking our truths
Aliki with africa on our minds
Chani with not hand out but hand up
Flutter with open arms
Lucia with kudos to just posts
Julie with jon and julie go to a ballgame
Heather with worthy
Sin with just post
Kyla with just posts, open arms, and a moment of your time

You beautiful, beautiful Just Post partners. It is an honor. I'd marry all of you all over again if you'd have me. And Mad, you sexy librarian, you. Thank you for all the links and buttons and codes, humor and brains and love. You are truly the better half. Here's to another six months.

Thank you.

home of the brave

Our second baseball excursion was much less eventful. The Sox lost (blah) and we didn't see a single fight. I did see the churro man though, and I smiled at him broadly and thought of all of you.

I always struggle with the American national anthem. It's a strange feeling because I feel all resistant as it starts and then I get all choked up during. I've never been a huge fan of red rockets glaring and the like. And I am always confused at the end by the land of the free and the home of the brave....everyone goes nuts during that part and I always wonder what identification with this bravery means. In the historical context there have been many instances of incredible bravery, but bravery costs, if not us, them. Or us and them. We. And it feels sullied with wicked wars and capitalism, fear and greed. Individuals are brave, we endure, we stand up. But we as a nation seem rather afraid of a lot of things. What does it really mean to be brave in the west today? How do we demonstrate our bravery in the midst of so much fear?


Check out these apples. I don't know if it's brave, but it sure as heck is beautiful and generous and kind and just. If you haven't had a chance to get in on our Just Post Fundraising Project then be sure to check it out becauase we've got a few more days to raise the roof. We plan on featuring the grand total next week right after the Just Post Roundtable. Makes me feel all warm inside, just thinking about it.

take me out to the crowd

Every year we look forward to that one week when the Red Sox come to the Bay Area. We get tickets to as many games as we can, we steal out of work early and head to Oakland to watch the game. I've talked before about what it means to live with a Bostonian, and this is part of the package. I secretly like the A's (don't tell Chicky). I like the A's because they are scrappy; they have a crappy stadium in a crappy part of town, their payroll is small, they lose guys constantly to bigger teams. And yet they keep winning. They have spirit, those guys.

Our ritual includes avoiding paying for parking by parking nearby in a lousy area. We invariably get hit up for money on the walk to the stadium every single time, last night included. There is always (as you can see from my lousy camera phone picture - by the way, Chicky, that's Big Papi at bat) a ton of Sox fans in the park, almost seeming to equal the A's fans. It's always loud, always fun, and almost always, a fight breaks out. Last night was no different, this time the mini-riot was nearby and took multiple security guards to disassemble. It's painful to watch a guy bounce down some stadium seating; a Sox fan at that. Dude. Respect the home team advantage.

I generally get along with everyone because I can go either way. If the A's made a good play, I cheer. Same for the Sox. I'm equal opportunity. It probably annoys J but I remind him that the A's payroll is microscopic in comparison to the Sox. We both love the underdog. The A's won last night and in final analysis I decided that was fine by me. They played a great game.

But even though last night's game was awesome, an 11 inning extravaganza at that, what I was most struck by were the hawkers. The malteds and the churros, the pizzas and the peanuts. The men and women of all ages running up and down the aisles selling their wares. That looks like a shit job, hawking. And I know enough to know the pay is shit too. And they get yelled by drunks. Those boxes they carry on their shoulders don't look fun either, all those ice cream sandwiches and cotton candy inside.

There was one old guy in particular who broke my heart. He was easily in his 60's, running up and down the stairs selling churros while looking so tired. He must need the job badly, as it seemed hard for him to do. But he kept smiling. I noticed how he cheered when the A's scored a run. You know how sometimes you see someone and they are instantly in your heart for no tangible reason? It was like that with this guy. But he was busy and there was really nothing I could do but notice.

In other and much more exciting news, our Just Post fundraising project is doing so, so well. Mad's nifty thermometer shows we've already raised $1,145 and we still have 5 days to go till the 10th. I can't thank everyone enough who's given money and written posts about our project. We've already raised enough to pay all the expenses for all eleven kids for one whole month. Blogosphere, you rock. Don't stop now.

I, on the other hand, suck at photo placement so I don't know how to get rid of all that dead space up there next to the thermometer. But so it goes.

open arms

This month celebrates the sixth month anniversary of our Just Post Roundtable, which as I shared in my last post was an idea that sparked spontaneously from a wedding proposal. And as such, I wanted to celebrate our union with a gift of more than words. This month, I want to put those words into action.

There is this little place in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, a tranquil place set high on a hilltop. And this place exists solely to allow children orphaned by AIDS to have the chance to grow up and thrive and become future leaders, mothers, fathers and inhabitants of their village, a village that is being ravaged by AIDS in a country being ravaged by AIDS.

Open Arms was founded by an American couple. A couple who instead of using their life savings in any sort of way poured it instead into this piece of land and from that land built a home. I had dinner with Bob and Sallie, the founders of Open Arms a few months ago and had the good fortune of learning their story. They'd always been dedicated to children, in fact, several of their kids are adopted. But that never felt like they were doing enough, and when Bob travelled to South Africa and saw firsthand the crisis he knew he had to do more.

So they formed a non-profit. They have a volunteer board of directors and none of them, including Bob and Sallie, draw a salary. All the money they raise goes directly to the Eastern Cape, and everyone they employ with the exception of one person is from the village there. So not only are they helping the kids but they are also helping the village. They pay fair wages to their workers and provide health care. And one of the things I liked the most about them was their intent and desire to keep those kids in the village. They will not adopt out the kids in their care, although they get inquiries from the west all the time. They send them to the local schools and community activities and are raising money now to make sure they can not only raise those kids but send them to college. Because these children are the future of their village. There are few elders left, the life expectancy rates are dropping every year (by 2010 it will be 36.5 - imagine being the oldest person you know). There will be few left to lead, to provide a historical context, to recall customs and traditions. Bob and Sallie know this, and they are doing their small part to keep this culture and community alive. They are truly two of the most inspiring people I have ever met; engaging and funny, dedicated and passionate. We were all moved to tears during the course of our meal, me from sitting in front of such obvious goodness and they from their burning desire to do more.

I don't have to tell you how bad the AIDS crisis in Africa is. About how there are millions and millions of orphaned and infected children. How these children grow up without the love of a family, without someone to tuck them in and feed them dinner, to hold them close and love them entirely. Bob and Sallie have changed that for eleven kids, and they want to change that for many more.

This is why I wanted to do more than write this month. I want to be a small part of the magic happening amidst the heartache. To gather all of us together to share some of our good fortune with them so that they can continue doing this important work. It costs on average $100 to raise each child per month, and right now they have eleven kids in their care.

I know there is skepticism in charity; and that we are each called to give to places according to our own beliefs. And this might not be the place that pulls you, and as such, I wanted to offer one other option, a place more well known, and a place that is close to Mad's heart.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation is a well known Canadian non-profit also working to help children in Africa. I felt it important to offer a second option, (not only for the Canadians in the house who prefer their exchange rate), but also because each organization is working towards the same goal: a better life for Africa's children. Mad has written very eloquently about the SLF over her way, and in true librarian form has included all sorts of heartbreaking facts and figures that are impossible to ignore.

So this month I am asking you to join us, for the small entry fee of $20, and support one of these two charities. Because we are unable to track the donations given to SLF, we won't be able to provide a grand total unless you email us and let us know. If you donate to Open Arms, enter Just Post in the company line of the online donation form. I will ask Open Arms to give me a tally after the 10th of the month, so we can see for ourselves what this small group of sisters and brothers are able to do.

Some of you mentioned wanting to write about this on your sites and we welcome that. And since we are voicing this as our collective song for our May Just Post Roundtable, the goal is to get the word out before the 10th and then we will also include the posts you have written in support of our Africa efforts in the Just Post Roundtable. So if you do write something over your way, let us know.

The wider we cast our net, the more we can help. We are asking you to join us. Let's move a mountain for some gorgeous, beautiful, amazing children in South Africa.

do we ever really know what time it is?

Emily asked me to share my thoughts about giving money to homeless (or otherwise impoverished) folks when there is a fairly good assumption that it would be going to feed someone's addiction.

Right off, I'd say that if that was the motivating force that kept you (Em, not YOU, bur rather the collective you that is in all of us) from offering spare change, then I'd ask you if you buy gasoline. Because I can't think of a larger collective addiction. And then I might question how else you spend your money. Do you buy clothes that were manufactured in third world countries, whether it Nike or Walmart or even the bananas we import, because you can bet that is off the back of someone else and most certainly feeding corporate addictions to money. Do you truly live sustainably, or do your purchases simply feed addictions out of the range of vision?

Addiction, see, it's a funnybugger. The highbrow kind, cloaked in marketing and media, telling us what we need to feel good, to get a good deal, feeds our collective addiction of production and consumption. Of greed. Money is the drug of choice for many. It might look like a hot guy in a suit, but it's still an addiction.

So it's a little hypocritical to get all flummoxed over that .50 that someone is asking for on the streets.

Now for the moral side of the coin. If you know that your actions will directly contribute to someone else's pain, and I count addiction in this, then it is awfully hard to turn a blind eye and help that person closer to the brink. Sadly I think our uninformed consumption does this all the time (diamonds are popular, yet often farmed in horrific conditions) but I think that offering someone money so they can go buy an eightball does this too.

How do we know that the guy asking for spare change is going to buy drugs? One way is if he told you when you asked why he wanted your money. And if he was to be honest, you could have an honest reaction. Chances are, though, there will be a lie or two involved. A lot has happened to that guy between the time he more closely resembled you and the time it's taken to make it to the streets.

Shame. That's a whopper. Imagine slowly losing everything, whether to addiction or poverty or to a couple of bad turns. Chances are by the time I found myself on the curb I'd have fallen pretty far down the rabbit hole. I'd have a lot of regrets. And I've had a lot of opportunity to be treated like shit. So I am going to want to make it sound as plausible as possible. Money for the bus (that means I am leaving your town soon and that's a good thing for everyone) food (who can argue with an empty belly); or clothes for that job interview (god knows you think I need a job).

I've worked with A LOT of people who've probably asked other people for money. They don't ask me - I think it falls under the premise that you don't shit where you eat. But I've certainly seen a scam or two (or twenty) selling prescription meds for a dollar a pill, making sweet with the older lady to get their hands on her disability check. And probably telling you they need money for the bus so they can go out and get high.

And even with all that, I still give money regularly. I don't walk around with a wad of cash and act like a wannabe Hefner at a strip club, but if I have a couple bucks and someone asks I give it to them. I don't ask what they need it for. Some folks want to tell me, but it isn't my business; I am doing it because they asked, and in the hopes they can take care of themselves. And I have the lucky bonus of extending a bit more - a night in a shelter - a place to go if they want it.

Back in my green years I would pass out my card all the time. I'd even set up a time to meet. I was sure they'd show up. In reality perhaps 1 in 5 actually did. But those one in five meant it. The others, perhaps it was a lie to get some cash. How different is that from the corporate deceit of inflated profit margins and promises of rebates? Free trade and fair wages? Of lower emissions and Made in the USA when only the label gets sewn on here?

Charity is also known as Almsgiving, and wiki defines that as the act of giving money, goods or time to the unfortunate, either directly or by means of a charitable trust or other worthy cause, is described as charity or charitable giving. The poor, particularly widows and orphans, and the sick and disabled, are generally regarded as the proper objects of almsgiving.

I tend to think of charity as a conscious practice within myself. The moment I decide to give money, I give up the right to my attachment to it. If I give to organizations, I do some research. I want to know how much is going to overhead, who their funders are, perhaps who sits on their boards. I want to know the mission. I can learn that and make a donation. If they use my money to pay their phone bill, so be it. I gave to the cause.

If you give to a person, less research is possible. So I give because someone in trouble is asking. I can't be that attached to what they do with it once I do, because see, it's a gift. I am offering a gift, perhaps under persuasion, but I am still offering it nonetheless.

So, Em. This is a long way for me to say that I think we spend our money in other ways that should give us greater concern. That we'd have to really work hard to ensure no one is doing something you don't want them to do with your money. The government went to war (to feed our addiction) with my taxes the last three years, and beyond voting the bastards out of office there is little I can do.

At least when you give to the guy on the street, it's quite possible you are actually helping someone. The unknown quantity is probably better odds towards the side of good than most of our spending. Besides, it's a nice thing to do. Your humanness will matter. Almsgiving is a virtue.

I welcome your thoughts. And for what it's worth, I don't own a single diamond.

But hell if I didn't fill my tank up yesterday.