For some time now, I\'ve been wanting to do a bit more for charity. Carrie and I have discussed it numerous times and then we saw a program on television a while ago about a project called, \"The ONE Campaign.\" We were both rather moved by the footage we saw, which is exactly what they wanted of course, but I know that I felt we could help in some way.

According to that program, a mere $16.00 could send a child to school for an entire year, and we could afford to send a few. The sticky part is that The ONE Campaign doesn\'t raise money for Africa, (from what I can tell), but it DOES raise money to \"spread the awareness\" of what it takes to make a difference to those in need. That is all well and good, and I am more than willing to place their banner on this site, but I want to give money directly to an organization that in turn gives it those in need.

I walk through our neighborhood and see people feverishly watering their lawns in the hot and dry weather and can\'t help but think to myself, \"...what a waste! There are families in Africa that live on less water in one week than we dump on our lawns every other night, and the water they use is usually dirty.\" I find myself eating *EVERYTHING* on my plate because I don\'t want to waste the food that other\'s are in need of. It\'s almost a guilt thing for me, and besides, I think we really need to change America\'s image in the rest of the world\'s eyes, might as well start where ya can, one person at a time.

You can never be to sure what is happening with your money, so I am currently researching a few organizations that we can donate to. If anyone out there has any information on something like this that\'d be great!

Don\'t get me wrong, I don\'t mind wearing my white band (that I haven\'t ordered yet) and saying I am part of something and helping out/volunteering time but I want my money to send some kids to school, not just \"raise awareness\" in America. We need more trustworthy organizations that like that. In the meantime though, I guess being part of this ONE Campaign will have to suffice, it just doesn\'t seem enough...

So for now, I\'ll probably end up ordering a box of bands, (they come in a box of 10 for 10 bucks) and when and if I do, I\'ll give one to the first 8 people that sign the pledge. (8 because I am sure Carrie will want one too). So go check it out and signup. I\'ll let you know when I order bands...