Monday, November 22, 2004

Strengthen The Good

Most of us would agree that it's the small victories in life that make the most overall difference to each of us. Just knowing that we've accomplished some random and anonymous act of kindness during the day improves our overall outlook on life, if not our general mental health. That's the idea behind Strengthen the Good:

STG is the nexus of a network of bloggers committed to raising awareness for small charities around the world. Every three weeks this space highlights a new "micro-charity" - a small, inspiring charity, one with a real face and where $1 makes a difference - and the bloggers in the network link to that post, sending traffic, and awareness, the charity's way.

I ran into STG quite by accident, but I really like the idea and will be promoting their micro-charity concept. It doesn't require big bucks from you, big chunks of time on your part, or an endless stream of fundraising material in your mailbox (snail or e).

Their latest endeavor is a good example. Many of the good folks who visit ASZ are avid readers - that's become abundantly clear over the past months of discussion. If you're like me, though, being an avid reader also means becoming a collector of old books. And as you relegate that last-read book to the bookshelf, it generally collects dust, never to be opened again. Here's an opportunity for you to clear out a box of old books from the attic. Rather than throw them out or donate them to a local ladies auxiliary for their next fund raising bazaar, why not try something completely different that might have a much greater impact? Help build a library for teenagers in Bratislava, Slovakia.