New York | Charity Case

Why You Should Donate Your Car

Why, right? You can use it. It has still got life in it. It is faster than taking the bus and it is classier when picking up a date. So honestly, there is really no argument here…but, actually, there is. Sure, you can donate your lunch money to a deserving charity, and every little bit does make a difference, but donating your car—that is going to help a lot. Kars for Kids is a subsidiary of a legitimate charity that will accept your car, no matter how old it is or how many fruit snacks the kids have dropped under the seat; and what’s even better, they will give you a $500 tax write-off. Obviously, the write-off isn’t the main reason to donate; it’s to help others (and we’ll get to that), but of course it’s nice to get it.

Kars for Kids use the money from donated cars to educate children. The odds are, if you own a car, you can drive it, have a good knowledge of the world, and are rich enough to afford a car. By donating, you can help other children to learn and grow and enable them to make the same achievements that you have. And by doing so, you can make a positive difference to the world and feel good about yourself.

Kars for Kids takes your car donation and auctions the car or sells the parts. With the money made from these sales, they run Camp Oorah in New York, a stay-away camp for boys. By donating your car, you are providing these boys with fun experiences where they can grow in body, personality, and mind.

So, can you think of a better thing to do with your old car? Put it to good use; good for them and good for you!

New York’s Homeless Are Heard

Albert, Carlos, Danny and Derrick are four men living on the streets of the Big Apple who are currently telling their stories through the microblogging site Twitter via phones that were donated to them.

Homeless people in New York have been given an online voice thanks to an innovative project using prepaid cell phones. Using the Twitter IDs @albert814, @jessie550, @putodanny, and @awitness2011, respectively, they are sharing insights into their experience living an unsettled existence with a global Internet audience.

The project, called Underheard in New York, is the brainchild of a team of creative interns serving an apprenticeship with the ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty. All of the interns are in their early twenties, and the ad agency challenged them to do “something good” that would gain publicity. So, they came up with the idea for Underheard in New York. The group was given a budget of $1,000 to achieve its goal. Thus, a new window into the lives of New York’s homeless population was opened.

In preparation for the project, the four volunteers were provided with a pre paid cell phone and instructions on how to operate it. Interns showed the men how to open a Twitter account and upload “tweets” to the global networking site.

Intern Willy Wang said that the project was an attempt to give a voice to the city’s homeless population, while another team member, Robert Weeks, expressed his hope that the project might spread, allowing more of those in marginalized populations to be given a voice.

So far, the men have used their new voice to share their hopes for employment and education, their joy over things that many people take for granted, such as finding a bed for the night or having enough fresh clothes to last a few days, and their disappointment at the lack of change in their own lives and environments.

Why You Should Donate Your Car

New York’s Homeless Are Heard

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