Rainbow Traffic Solutions - charity:water

 Why we choose a charity is often quite personal. Most of us don't choose a charity like we choose a random pair of white socks - they have meaning and value to us. Some of us do AIDS walks because we have watched a loved one die. Some of us adopt homeless pets because a dog changed our life when we were a child. We all have stories and causes. 

What's more challenging is when there are causes that don't hit so close to home. There will be an earthquake in El Salvador and we'll see in on the news. Maybe a picture of the devastation will move us and we will donate - maybe not. Perhaps that is where it will end of most of us - for some people - sometimes for reasons intimately personal, and sometimes because they were so moved by the stories on the tv (still made a connection without actually meeting a person) they will make it their life's work. At some point, they'll probably wind up going there and meeting the people. 

What's even more challenging is connecting with those causes that don't get as much media play or when the media play ends too soon. BTW, It usually does even for the big earthquake stories too, leaving those places often undeserved. Once we're crossing continent and cultural boundaries it gets harder. The more remote the connection, the harder it gets. And it gets even harder when we feel like our donation may not be getting in the best hands because of political climates or because things are so complicated because of historical problems or current wars or corruption. We may feel justified that basically helping in our immediate area is the best way to go anyway since we have more control  - and possibly do some micro-lending since we can feel good about that (then they're "helping themselves"). We are not, by any means, criticizing micro-lending, it is a terrific concept, but it can't solve every problem. Nothing can! So a variety of methods is best. Not everything that gets donated in a local system is used effectively or makes it where it is supposed to go either - even in the best, most well-intentioned systems that are well managed. It's just the nature of life. 

So how do we connect with people that we are not likely to be able to meet? With cultures that we may not understand? With languages we may never even learn the name of? With people that may never use Facebook or Twitter or a computer? How do we even connect with charities and organizations locally of which we may not be aware? Well - we can share our stories - we can share why we have connected with them, we can share why others we know have connected with them. 

HOW IT WORKS

Here's how this works....If you have a favorite charity or cause that you promote in some way, that's terrific and we salute you :) What we ask for is a link back to our main page and we will post your story here. It can be a YouTube video of you talking about it, or a slide show, or an MP3 or podcast. It can be a blog post or a link to your campaign page where you are raising money. It could be a link to a video of a friend of yours talking about it or a poem you've written about it or a jpeg of a collage you've made about it. Whatever you've choose to tell your story to promote your charity. Contact us at rainbowtrafficexchange@gmail.com about posting it. Please put "Charity Exchange" in the subject line for the fastest response. 

Note: While we have no desire to censor anyone at all, we are unable to post any links to any  organizations that promote cruelty or hatred or any such thing like that.