Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The needs are great.........

 I usually give to some charities at this time of year and at various times throughout the year.  I had the ones picked out that I wanted to donate to but then I wanted to check up on them before I donated.  It was a good thing I did because 2 of them were not using the money wisely at all!  I found a website called Charity Navigator which rated the charities on how well they use their resources in many categories such as CEO salary and percent of donations that actually go  to their cause.  The organizations that I give to and that were highly rated are Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, Peta, St. Judes, and Direct Relief.  I was giving to ASPCA which I changed to Peta based on their track record, and I stopped giving to Boys Town and replaced it with Direct Relief, one the highest rated charities.  I just wanted to share this information with you in case, like me, you wanted to look behind the curtain at some of the organizations requesting your money at this time of year.  God knows, the need is great but we'd all like to know that our money is being put to good use to help those in need.

I planted the paper whites today and they have to stay in a cool place for 10 days.  I made a big mess in my kitchen as they give you a piece of soil you have to soak and then plant...what a mess!  But it's done and hopefully I will have some beautiful flowers sometime soon!  They're out in my garage for the 10 days.

Today was wool sock washing day. 
"Because wool socks are naturally odor-resistant and moisture-wicking, you don't need to wash them after every wear. You can increase the “life” of your wool socks by washing them after two to three full days of wear."
I've been washing them by hand individually with dish washing detergent but I just ordered some Soak from Amazon which comes in different scents and is specifically for wool washing.  Plus, there is no rinsing.
Today is Wednesday which I have allocated to a Fall cross stitch every Wednesday.  So, the kit I got for Christmas is now my Wednesday stitch............
This afternoon I hope to work on some belated Christmas gifts and make some caramels and cinnamon twist rolls.

Oh, and by the way............

Happy Trails!!!


4 comments:

Betsy said...

It's always a great idea to check up on the charities you give to. We also give to St. Jude's and Samaritan's Purse monthly, among others.
I've been having some lazy days, just watching Hallmark Christmas movies yesterday and today. Dennis worked yesterday and I did nothing besides watch movies and knit a "little". Very little. I was lazy.
Blessings and love,
Betsy

Far Side of Fifty said...

Good that you checked them out! I know The Red Cross is a rip off. We try to keep our donations locally...when people have Go Fund Me needs then I send the $ straight to them so it all is used instead of the Go Fund Me people taking a percentage. The banks in town usually have accounts set up for donations:)

Sharm said...

Nice idea to have a set day for a particular crafting project! I didn't realize that about wool socks and since I've just began this year to knit my own socks that will good information!

Miss Merry said...

I have that charity navigator bookmarked to check. I guess they have changed their ways, but that Wounded Warriors was a big issue a while back. U try to keep my donations local for the most part and, like Connie, I would rather send a check to a family than participate in "go fund me". I am not a fan of giving my credit card number to Facebook to donate to anything! You do want to make sure that the money is used in the best way.

Merry Christmas!