Six Worthwhile Charities to Donate to!

Illustration of hands up in the air
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Previously we have mentioned several charitable organizations that Howard Fensterman choose to donate to, and in this article, we will expand out to a broader view of charitable organizations across the globe. 

Since there are so many causes that need donations as well as volunteer work, we have picked five that we feel deserve notable attention.

That does not mean that you agree with our picks, as you may have some in mind that you believe are more worthwhile to donate to, and that’s perfectly fine! But we are sure the ones that we have selected here are worthwhile as well, so we simply ask that you read about them and then make your decision. Let’s begin.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospita

$1.8 million per day! That’s what it cost St. Jude to care for these children and they charge the families zero dollars! What’s more precious than a child? What could be more painful than parents who see their child suffer from cancer? Or worse, actually being that child with cancer!

You’ve heard the expression “Let’s stamp out cancer in our lifetime”. Thanks to the superb efforts of St. Jude Cancer Hospital, that may become true! 

Established by Danny Thomas, St. Jude works with top scientists and doctors to research, understand, and subsequently treat children with cancer, as well as other life-threatening diseases. 

Pediatric cancer is St. Jude’s major research and care and the young patients may be there for quite a while. Possibly up to three years or more, and the costs can be astronomical with an average price tag of around $425,000 but can be up to $1 million or more.

With that said, no family ever pays a penny to St. Jude, but if the family does have insurance, St. Jude will bill the insurance company, but that’s it. No copays or deductibles are ever asked for.

Shriners Children’s Hospital

Let’s stay with children’s charities just a bit more. The Shriners Children’s Hospital provides exceptional pediatric care for children suffering from diseases or injuries. They have locations throughout the United States on both coasts and middle America, as well as, one in Hawaii.

Some of the care they provide is orthopedic therapy, gastrointestinal conditions, burn care, rheumatic therapy, sports medicine, and pediatric surgery.

Consider donating to this worthy cause. 

Tunnel to Towers 

We selected Tunnel to Towers because it represents folks who sacrificed more than anyone would want to-to sacrifice. The charity provides new homes free of charge to first responders, law enforcement members, and the American military who have been permanently injured in the line of duty. Tunnel to Towers also provides homes to gold star families who have lost a loved one. 

These homes are state of the art with all the ‘smart’ features necessary for those who have difficulty managing daily home living.

Created by Frank Siller who lost his brother firefighter at the World Trade Center on 9/11. 

While you’re at it, you might want to also consider a donation to Paralyzed Veterans of America

We should never forget the sacrifices our military and first responders have given for our country!

Pancreatic Cancer Action Network 

Pancreatic cancer is one of the scariest cancers to acquire. Over 62,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with this disease in 2022 and it is one of the most difficult to manage almost 49,000 people will die from this cancer this year!

Pancreatic cancer is not easy to diagnose and there are no specific symptoms that occur in the early stages of the disease. Unfortunately, the result is that pancreatic cancer is not found until the later stages, which means that it has already spread through the body, and surgery at that point is not a valid alternative.

That is why we choose the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network as one of our top charities to donate to. 

Care

Most of us have heard about Care. An international organization is driven to help hunger strife families throughout the world.

As per their mission statement: “CARE provides quality, gender-focused and localized humanitarian assistance to 10% of those affected in major crises, reaching at least 50 million people by 2030.”, their goal is to help more than 50 million people from external factors such as war, natural disasters, climate change, and migration that cause homelessness and humanitarian food crisis around the world. 

Care would like to stamp out hunger once and for all. When you donate to Care you know you are helping families that are in dire need of food and shelter.

Camp Good Mourning 

Children fishing at Camp Good Mourning
Photo SS

A local (NY area) 501c3 nonprofit organization that caterers to children who have lost a parent or sibling. Camp Good Mourning is a bereavement organization.

As per their website: “Camp Good Mourning! supports, educates, and empowers grieving Long Island children in a traditional summer camp setting . . . with something EXTRA SPECIAL . . . the ability to connect with other ways who harass experienced the death of a parent and/or sibling!”

When visiting the camp as we have done, the most prominent aspect that we noticed were the smiling faces of the children as they participated in their activities.

If you have suggestions for us to donate to a worthwhile charitable organization, please let us know!

Donate to Change the World

Illustration of hands up in the air
Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

With open hearts and open hands, we gave what we could, and a little became a lot”, said Wendy Smith in her book Give a little: “How your small donations can transform our world”.

People donate money to different causes for a variety of reasons. These include personal satisfaction, tax deductions, and social reasons that can bring change in our society for the better.

Philanthropy on a Personal Level

Although Howard Fensterman donates to a variety of causes, he has chosen two major organizations on which he mainly focuses. One is the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. A non-profit organization devoted to finding the cures for Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis and to improving the quality of life of children and adults affected by this disease.

Advancing the quality of life of all communities is of primary importance to Howard and as such, he is a contributor to his local Chabad, which is an organization that assists folks by uplifting their social environments in locations all over the world.

How You Can Help

Group of Hardworking Volunteers Preparing Donated Free Food Rations

Depending on the reason for donating to charity, people may choose different ways to help. Volunteering to work for a charitable organization is a great way to be directly involved in helping others.

If you want to contribute funds, you will find many organizations to choose from. Many people make choices by keeping in mind how their money will be utilized and the impact it will have in the area they are concerned about, as well as potential tax deductions.

Many individuals do feel compelled to donate to organizations for a cause that is likely to bring social change,* but they end up giving money to establishments, like hospitals and universities, whenever they can make donations. According to research, only 20% of big donors follow their desire to donate to organizations that are working to bring social change.

This may be because of two major reasons, as identified by the same research.

    1. People do not know about such organizations and second, they do not find it rewarding to donate to small organizations.
    2. There could be a lack of trust. Established and traditional recipients of donations enjoy a certain level of people’s trust because of a history of using donations for the intended purposes. Also, making big donations to established organizations and big names is a way to earn respect and admiration in society.

But, there are folks, especially philanthropists, who do not follow the traditional route. In order to satisfy their strong desires to help bring in social change, they make non-traditional choices and look for organizations that are working on innovative projects to change society’s practices, and norms or to address real problems of society.      

Some philanthropists believe that organizations that may be small but are at the forefront of research are the most worthy recipients of their donations. 

Additionally, you may want to consider going beyond donating to medical research and consider contributing directly to hospitals and other organizations. St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital which was founded by Danny Thomas, is a cancer center for children and is a great place to donate, as well as the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

Hungry children in Africia
Hunger is an area that we must all consider lending a helping hand. No one should ever go hungry anywhere in the world. Whether that be physically volunteering or sending money. Save the Children is just one of many charities we highly recommend considering.

You may also want to consider helping our veterans and first responders. Tunnel to Towers provides state of the art housing for injured soldiers and first responders. It was founded by Frank Siller, who lost his brother, a firefighter in the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in NYC. Wounded Warrior Project is another charity that assists our veterans.

How We Help

This website is devoted to bringing awareness to many illnesses, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as discussing mental health issues and domestic lone-wolf shooting attacks.

In addition to learning what these diseases are, we offer suggestions, based on the studies from researchers in the fields, on how you can use preventative measures to stay healthy, and what to do if you feel you may be at risk.

We provide charitable organizations you can contact but we obviously can’t list all the charities here. We do have a plethora of information available with links to sources that you can follow up on. Forbes provides the top 100 charitable organizations and you can use their guide as well.

When you see the impact your money is bringing to society, it gives you the satisfaction that you have played your part in making this world a better place.  

*Social change in this article refers to anything that benefits society, including medical advances as well as social ones.

Please note: This website does not ask for any financial contributions directly or provide any forms to donate to a cause. Please refer to the sources provided and/or you can find them on the Web via Google or other resources.

Parkinson’s Disease – What is It?

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disease of the brain. It affects parts of the brain that are associated with normal movement and balance. The disease is caused when nerve cells or neurons in an area of the brain die or become impaired by the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine.

Dopamine enables smooth, coordinated movements.  The classic symptoms of this condition are a tremor or shaking of the hand or other limbs while at rest.  

When actor Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with the disease, the illness as well as its effects on humans became headline news. But how can we combat it? First, we need to understand what Parkinson’s Disease does to the body.

In addition to motor symptoms such as slowness of movement, tremors, and stiffness, most people develop other health problems related to Parkinson’s. These symptoms are known as non-motor symptoms.

Non-motor symptoms include:

    • Mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and irritability
    • Cognitive changes such as problems with focused attention and planning, slowing of thought, language and memory difficulties, personality changes, dementia
    • Hallucinations and delusions
    • Drop in blood pressure when standing, or light-headedness
    • Constipation and a feeling of fullness after eating small amounts
    • Pain
    • Fatigue
    • Vision problems
    • Excessive sweating
    • Increase in dandruff or oily skin
    • Urinary urgency, and frequency
    • Loss of sense of smell
    • Weight gain
    • Impulsive control issues

How is it Acquired?

About 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year affecting about 50 percent more men than women.  No one is sure why people get the disease. Exactly what causes Parkinson’s disease is unclear. Most experts think that a combination of genetic and environmental factors is responsible. The average age of diagnosis is 60 years old, however, 5 to 10 percent of people with Parkinson’s disease have “early-onset” disease that begins before the age of 50. Early-onset forms of the disease are often inherited, though not always. People with one or more close relatives who have Parkinson’s disease have an increased risk of developing the disease themselves.

What are the Signs of Parkinson’s Disease?

Early signs of the condition include:

    • Constipation
    • Sleepiness or drowsiness
    • Difficulty swallowing
    • Decreased sense of smell
    • REM behavior disorder  (In this the individuals act upon their dreams by kicking, hitting, or talking during a dream or REM sleep).

Parkinson’s disease is not a fatal illness, it is a progressive illness. At early years most patients with adequate response to medications can lead a normal or near-normal life with normal life expectancy.  However, it’s a degenerative disorder that usually progresses until it leaves its patients completely debilitated. The condition usually worsens over an average of 15 years. Once a patient is diagnosed with Parkinson’s, there are many things that they may do to maintain their quality of life and live with Parkinson’s.  They may learn about nutrition; daily living changes; sexual health; freezing (when a body part is unable to move); and safety at home.

The National Parkinson Foundation has programs to support Parkinson’s patients as well as caregivers.  The Foundation has made great strides in Parkinson’s care, research, and community outreach. Donations to the Parkinson’s Foundation go directly to support and develop treatments for the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Your gift can help make life better for people with Parkinson’s.
 Go to Parkinsons.org to donate.                

The NINDS and the National Institute of Mental Health jointly support two national brain specimen banks. These banks supply research scientists around the world with nervous system tissue from patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders. They need tissue from patients with Parkinson’s disease so that scientists can study and understand the disorder. Those who may be interested in donating should contact: Rashed M. Nagra, Ph.D., Director or contact the Human Brain and Spinal Fluid Resource Center at Neurology Research (127A) W. Los Angeles Healthcare Center.