|
|
Remember that financial donations aren’t the only thing we can do to help our friends in the Philippines: We can pray for them too.
One of my Filipina friends, Julienne, just posted this on her Facebook profile tonight:
PRAYER BRIGADE: “Father God, we pray for your Divine Mercy. Spare us from another devastation. We haven’t recovered yet from the previous Typhoons. Another super typhoon threatens us & a possible strong earthquake. We implore You two drive away Typhoon RAMIL & the earthquake, prevent them from crossing any part of our country. We ask these in the Mighty name of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
 Diane (right) offers words of encouragement Related to this, I wanted to share something from my bro’s mother-in-law, Diane from Seneca Falls, NY…
“What [you're all] doing is wonderful and we’re trying to spread it to as many people on our end as possible. I e-mailed it to the church to go on the prayer list and to anyone else I could think of (you probably already got that one). Hopefully it will multiply many times over as the days go on!
Love,
Mom (Diane)”
After my bro and sis-in-law shared this email with me, I emailed Diane to thank her for her prayers and her donation. She replied with this:
“You’re welcome and I hope the donations and help multiply like you wouldn’t believe. The power of prayer is an amazing thing and you’ll be witness to it!
This was our sermon topic last week “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” James 2:15,16
Your website brought it to mind this morning.”
-Greg
P.S. Do you have any inspiring prayers, stories, or words or encouragement for you want to share with our Filipino friends? My personal story is here. If you want to share yours, like Judy did, you can do so right here.
Sometime last month, the dishwasher in my parent’s house in Hall, NY leaked and ruined the kitchen, dining room, and living room floors.
 Aunt Donna (left) pulled out nails for six hours and then donated her wages to our typhoon victims fund Well, one thing led to another, and somehow my Aunt Donna got talked into spending six hours on her hands and knees the other day, helping to pull nails out of the floor and getting a few blisters in the process.
The funny thing is, she never accepts money for stuff like this even though she’s so willing to help out.
But this time she accepted the money for her labor.
And five seconds later she turned around and told my parents she wanted to donate it directly to the our Philippines typhoon victims fund!
Thanks Tia Donna!
-Greg
P.S. Not everyone can donate, and that’s totally fine. There are other ways to help out the Philippines typhoon victims. Visit this link to see how you can win a $350 floral canvas painting AND help our Filipino friends at the same time (all without spending a dime).
There has been so much going on over the past couple days with our relief efforts that I haven’t been able to recognize several people who have stepped up and helped out the Philippines typhoon victims by showing support through donating, praying, and helping to spread the word both online and offline.
 Esteban shares some words of encouragement for our efforts One of those people is a friend and co-worker of mine, Esteban.
Esteban made a generous donation yesterday and had these words of encouragement for all of you involved in helping our Filipino friends…
“Thank [you all] for letting your heart be directed to do what is good, not just what is right. My prayers go out to your effort, to help the people in the Philippines.”
Thanks E!
-Greg
P.S. Get all the updates about our relief efforts — including inspiring stories from both “social donors” and typhoon victims — by subscribing to our email mailing list. Click here and enter your email address.
Hey guys, my brother (Dave) and his wife (Becky) have been a great support for SocialDonating.org so far. They were among the original “brainstormers” for how we could raise awareness and donations for the Philippines typhoon victims. I’ve asked them to help me provide updates and take ownership over some of the offline and online volunteering campaigns. Below is an announcement from Dave about their first campaign…
-Greg
(Almost) famous Austin, TX artist and lovely wife of mine, Rebecca, has just made a bold announcement to and for SocialDonating.org supporters.
 Win this painting! Read on to learn more and to see how you can help our Filipino friends AND win this painting at the same time!
Continue reading Win This Painting (And Help Our Filipino Friends At The Same Time)
 Gwen also has a tie to the Philippines: her son's girlfriend is Filipina Gwen Chamberlain – from the Penn Yan, NY-based Chronicle-Express — took the time to interview me on Friday to hear about what we’re doing for the Philippines typhoon victims.
The article is online right now and could be in the paper on October 21st. Click here to read it.
Any media attention we can get will help expand our typhoon relief efforts. Thanks Gwen!
-Greg
 "I couldn't imagine having to start all over with nothing..." Another surprise donation came in for our Philippines typhoon victims fund.
This one came from one of my best friends from another lifetime who I haven’t heard from in years.
She’s a NY- to-Cali transplant, and she’s deeply concerned for her fellow Filipinos…
“I donated because it’s amazing what [you guys] are doing for my peeps.
Even if it weren’t for my peeps, I still would’ve donated because I am fortunate to have what I have and I can live without the little luxuries that I allow myself to have a couple of times a week like my Chai Latte from Starbucks 
I couldn’t imagine having to start all over with nothing and that is exactly what they are dealing with on a daily basis, some even before this tragedy.
Anything that I can do to help “keep the faith” (Billy Joel just popped into my head for some reason) is exactly what I want to be doing.”
Do you like Julie’s story? Do you want to help raise awareness for the over 80,000 Philippines typhoon victims? Share this story with your friends by using the button below. The more people we can inspire and get involved, the more we can help these victims.
-Greg
 Vero sold last year's Halloween costume to help raise money for the Philippines typhoon victims My wife Vero bought butterfly wings for Halloween last year.
But apparently butterflies are out of style in 2009 — and Little Red Riding Hood is in.
So she decided to sell her wings to help raise money for the Philippines typhoon victims fund.
They went for $5.
Sure, $5 doesn’t even get you a decent lunch in the U.S., but it could buy enough rice in Manila to feed a family of four.
Just imagine if we can get hundreds of people to donate $5 to the Philippines typhoon victims every now and then.
-Greg
P.S. If you’d like to make a donation you can do so here. Keep in mind that 100% of what you donate makes it to Manila. I pay all fees and wire transfers out of my pocket.
 Karyna and Katie donate their "breakfast taco" fund to the typhoon victims For at least six months, my fellow StreetAuthority co-workers Katie and Karyna have been collecting spare coins in a coffee mug for their “Breakfast Taco” fund.
But today, they told me they wanted to donate their savings to the Philippines typhoon victims.
One of them said:
“Granted we don’t have much saved up because we never have cash on hand… but they need it more than we do right now.”
Every quarter really does help… nothing is too small. Thanks chicas!
-Greg
P.S. If you’d like to make a donation to the Philippines typhoon victims, you can do so here. Keep in mind that 100% of what you donate makes it to Manila.
 Laura explains why she helps the typhoon victims An unexpected donation came in from a friend. I think her story is a great example of the idea behind “social donating” — something you see or hear about on Facebook or Twitter inspires you enough to get involved…
“I was half asleep this morning checking my facebook account when I came across your social donating post.
It made me feel really warm and fuzzy to see people I know directing their energy toward something greater than themselves… it just doesn’t happen often enough.
I’m also aware of how personally the crisis touched Emma and those of you who have gotten to know the people of Manila. I just wanted to show my support and at the same time help some deserving people.”
Thanks Laura!!
-Greg
 **Warning: Sales Pitch Ahead (but it’s for a good cause!) **
Dear Social Donater,
I know it sounds insane, but how would you like to save over $15,700 on dining, entertainment, and more? Even saving $50 in this lackluster economy would be nice, right?
For less than what it costs you to fill your gas tank — I’d like to give you a “special pass” that saves you thousands of dollars AND gets you a bunch of free stuff.
Free stuff like cinnamon twisters at Taco Bell… pretzels at Aunt Anne’s… video game plays at Dave & Busters and so much more… even free movie tix on your birthday!
Add it all up, and you’re looking at over $15k worth savings on every day items in your hometown.
Let me ask you something… do you skip off to CiCis or Indian Palace for lunch? I’ll tell you how to eat there for free. Others are paying $10… $12… even $15 per meal.
But follow me, and you’ll be eating all you can eat in those “fancy” places for nothing.
Don’t worry, none of this is illegal (although with savings like this it should be!). I’ll give you all the details in a moment…
But wait.
There’s something important thing I need to tell you.
It’s super important.
When you buy your “special pass” through the link I give you below, ALL of SocialDonating.org’s proceeds will go directly to our “Philippines Typhoon Victims Fund.”
How great is that? You’ll save money, get free stuff, AND help a great cause.
Simply visit this exact link to order your “special pass” today.
“Salamat Po” as the Pinoys say.
-Greg
 With Vero in Boracay Island, Philippines Here are a couple quick updates for today…
1. We hit $500 in relief for the Philippines typhoon victims. I wired the money to Manila. My good friend Harold will organize distributing it based on the most immediate need for it. I talked to Harold today… he said he will give us some updates in a couple days, pics included. He mentioned that one of the challenges right now is transporting the relief supplies to the victims. I think he will provide more details in a couple days. Harold was very appreciative of what we are doing… so thank you everyone.
2. Just so you know, 100% of the money you donate makes it to Manila. I am paying the PayPal fees and the Wells Fargo wiring fees myself. So everything you donate goes to work for the cause!
3. I added a photo section to the web site. My brother suggested making the site more personal… so I will try adding more photos and stories as we go. I also want to hear from our social donators as to why you are helping out. Maybe it will inspire others. And finally I want to put a page up for our Filipino friends, so we can hear their stories too. All of this will be coming. For now, here is a link to some photos I posted so far. Click on the photo to view the album, and then tell me how beautiful the Philippines is 
-Greg
 Manila, Philippines after "Ondoy" If you’re like me, whenever you hear about a far-away natural disaster — like the typhoon that just flooded Manila, Philippines — you probably have a certain reaction…
You say some prayers, you talk about how unfortunate the situation is with your friends and family, you think about how lucky you are to be safe and sound, and you consider getting involved with a relief effort.
And then, a couple days later, you slide back into your routine and slowly forget the urgency behind the disaster. You justify “if it’s really that bad, some non-profit can surely offer more help than I can.”
It’s too easy to forget about these tragedies the minute the news stops reporting on them.
Does any of this sound familiar?
If so, this is your call to arms: There are four ways you can help typhoon victims in Manila, Philippines right now. Three of them don’t even involve monetary donations…
- Make a Donation – Anything is better than nothing
- Be an Online Volunteer – Facebookers and Twitterers welcome
- Be an Offline Volunteer - Got a talent? Put it too good use
- Pray – It’s powerful and it’s free
I hope you consider at least one of the activities above. Our friends in the Philippines really need some help right now…
-Greg
|
|
