As of this evening, half the lights of the Menorah will have been lit, the seventh window on the Advent Calendar will have been opened. It’s already time for part 4 of the Generous December Group Writing Project. Events are well-underway, but I guess it is too easy to be carried away on a wave of enthusiasm too early.

There can be a downside to charitable giving. Kelly the Nonprofiteer sent me a link about thinking critically about how charities are administrated and what, in the end, they actually accomplish. That is exactly why I chose not to make the Generous December Group Writing Project a random contest. I wanted the freedom to look at how much a given non-profit gives to the world in terms of service, compared to how much they spend on administration, marketing, and other expenses. I also made some pretty heavy demands on bloggers who enter. They (We) have had to explain completely why they have a relationship with the charity of their choice.

This project is a lot of work for everyone, but it is educational for all of us. I am not sure how comfortable I am with bloggers asking for donations for specific individuals outside a charitable context, but I wouldn’t censor someone who wants to raise money and/or awareness for friends in need. I have a great respect for the intelligence, both emotional and mental, of other bloggers. I expect all of us can determine our own comfort levels.

Since the Nonprofiteer does this kind of work all the time, I can’t wait to read Kelly’s entry about where she gives her time and money after she has applied her financial/ethical matrix.

I wrote the introduction to the Generous December Group Writing Project with some pretty strict rules that will allow me to be as careful as possible. So far, I haven’t read anything in the blog posts, or on the charity sites, or in the major and minor media in three countries that I follow regularly that sets off any alarm bells. In fact, through this initiative I’ve read about small organizations that have carefully defined one job they want to do well. I think that often prevents the administrative money-pit that can (but doesn’t always) come with donations to larger NGOs. If you have heard anything “different” about any of the non-profits entered in this GWP, please let me know.

That said, let us now return to the spirit of hope and the light of enthusiasm:

Tom at 501c Files, became the first tax guy to make me cry (which, since I pay taxes in Europe is saying something) when he wrote about Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

Kadi Prescott is thinking about how to give one particular family in crisis a gift this Christmas. Her post made me think about all the other families out there who give presents to children who would otherwise get nothing. Does anyone have any particular “toys for tots” organizations to recommend?

SlackerMommy has been sharing her upbringing on here blog and has some excellent insights into preventing child abuse. Her cause does work that supports the whole family to create a safe environment for children.

That’s three new entries, combined with those from part one, part two and part three, that makes a total of 18 entries so far. Hopefully, we’ll have enough entries to post part five on Monday. As soon as we have 20 entries, the donation amount will double.

Post from: Babylune

Vacations mystify a lot of people. Some people can’t imagine spending a week or two away from home. They don’t want to break their carefully crafter routines. Others think that a vacation is about staying in a hotel and can’t understand why a family would live in one room voluntarily. My family is traveling family, but a budget travel one and we seldom stay in anything but the cheapest hotels when we do. We’re more of a family-run pension, youth hostel or stay with friends and relatives kind of crowd. Naturally, our friends and relatives are always welcome here too. The best part of this kind of lifestyle is that, when we’re not away, we have a lot of house guests to make life interesting.

Adventures, both accidental and planned, are always on the itinerary when you travel with kids. That’s certainly what the next to entries in the Family Vacation Group Writing Project show. All you need for that is a child or two.
A Mama’s Rant went up the mountain where she met a dangerous beast (or two) in a hotel room hallway.

Char the Weary Parent had 10 little adventures this summer.

Jenny at The So-Called Me is happy to be home after a camping trip.

You have until Friday night (August 31, 2007) to get your entries in for the Family Vacation GWP. The prize will equal $1 for every entry…so far, we’re up to $6. You could raise it to $7. Getting 93 of your friends to enter could raise it to the maximum of $100.

Post from: Babylune

The idea is simple. I set a theme. All of you then write a post on the theme for your own blogs. Link back to this post in yours with a short description of the writing project. Finally, in case I don’t get the trackback, leave the URL to your post in the comments section below.

Every morning, I’ll post all of the entries from the previous day.

The contest is open now and closes at 11:59 PM on Thursday, 14 June, 2007.

The final entries will be posted on Friday, 15 June, 2007. On Saturday the 16th, I’ll announce the results of a random draw of all eligible posts to receive the winning blogger’s choice of a $24.95 gift voucher from Amazon or $24.95 in virtual cash via PayPal (it has to be under $25 US to avoid potential tax penalties for the winner).

Posts that aren’t on the theme or aren’t suitable for family reading will be disqualified at my dictatorial discretion.

Now for the theme:

Tell us all about a parenting mistake you’ve made, what you’ve learned from it and how you’re trying to make sure it will never happen again. Here’s mine.

Obviously, if you are the kind of parent to be featured on Parents Behaving Badly, we don’t want to hear from you. Not at all.

Instead, we want to hear from people recognize that, while there is no such thing as a perfect parent, trying to do better is good for the whole population.

Let the group writing project begin!

Post from: Babylune