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I committed to donating to worthy causes in 2017, feeling that it was necessary to put some monetary support behind efforts I feel align well with my values. I wrote a bit about the causes that I have decided to focus on in this post.
While one of my causes was protecting the Great Lakes and, by extension, promoting clean water efforts, I felt that it was imperative to focus on environmental issues this month. With reports that the Trump administration is planning to roll back critical environmental rules while also looking to severely cut the budget of the EPA, I can’t think of a better time to give to organizations focused on protecting our environment.
In the first two months of the year, I focused donations on some of the big names:
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Planned Parenthood
- The Sierra Club (am making monthly donations)
- The Trevor Project (am making monthly donations)
- League of Women Voter’s Education Fund
I also found an organization specifically focused on the Great Lakes, namely the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
But this month, I decided to donate to organizations specificially focused on the environment. A good article came out back in November 2016 discussing organizations to consider for donations. I chose three:
- The Environmental Defense Action Fund (the active arm of the EDF to which I had previously donated; donations are not tax deductible)
- The National Resources Defense Council
- EarthJustice
I was particularly pleased by the NRDC’s website and its many calls to take action. I was able to sign a couple of pertinent petitions and get on the email list.
There’s only so much we can do, but something is better than nothing. Whether it’s calling and writing our representatives; attending town halls, forums, rallies, and marches; donating to charities; or joining local grassroots organizations, like the Indivisible movements, any action makes a difference. Even if it’s a small difference, a drop in the bucket, it’s one more than would have been there without you!
Raysa Leer's Blog 