I love our topic at SFF7 this week! I firmly
believe in giving back and paying good things forward.
I tend to focus on three areas of charitable
giving or support: veterans, children and animals, based on my own life and
what's most important to me.
The specific charities I support may change from
year to year but here are a few to which I've given support currently or in the
past:
Hero Dogs, Inc. - Service dogs for veterans. With my
friend Pauline B. Jones, I've co-organized the USA Today Best Selling Pets In
Space scifi romance limited edition anthology for the past two years, and we make a donation
to Hero Dogs from the first month's royalties earned by this
USA Today Best Selling anthology.
The Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA - my two
rescue cats Jake and Keanu came from here (and my daughters' cats Carrot and
Orly before that) and I admire the work they do.
Rainbow Acres Ranch - From their webpage: "For over 40 years, we've been
empowering people with developmental disabilities to live to their fullest
potential with dignity and purpose." For many years, one of my dearest
friends and her husband went annually to volunteer their time and talents there,
so I chose to support them as well.
GLAZA - the Los Angeles Zoo and
Botanical Gardens. When my girls were young, we went there all the time and I
tried to support them as much as I could.
LZ Grace Warriors Retreat - From their webpage: "Landing Zone Grace
(LZ-Grace) provides a place of respite for combat weary warriors and their families.
The goal of this family farm is to provide a sanctuary of rest, renewal and
hope to Special Operations Forces (from all branches of the military)
transitioning from combat to life at home."
There are so many worthy
organizations out there, so many needs crying out to be addressed. I always
wish I could do more but we can each only do what's possible for our own
situation and try to help those who are less fortunate than we may be today.
At various times, I’ve also
supported the American Cancer Society, the Red Cross, St. Jude’s Hospital, Susan G. Komen For the Cure, UNICEF,
the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and various organizations fighting the AIDS
epidemic, as well as smaller, localized charities whose names would not be familiar. When I had the day job, I always also donated to United Way from my
paycheck.
As you can probably tell, my
choice of which charities to support varies with what’s going on in my own
life, or with my family and friends. That leaves out so many wonderful causes like bomb removal in war torn areas, world famine, malaria prevention, lack of clean water in impoverished parts of the world, Doctors Without Borders...but for me, the focus is more localized.
Best wishes to you and yours
for a very warm, happy and safe holiday season.
