What charities do the IK members want to help

I know that I have posted a couple of threads on charities that I would like to see the IK work with. I just wanted to know what charities the other IK members would like to see receive some help. We obviously have worked with Riley's. I feel pretty sure that we will again as well. I would like to see us help with The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. There is a post out there regarding this called "Indy Knights for the kids". Ron has posted that the officers will be looking into his request. Let me know what charities you think deserve some attention.

There are so many great & deserving charities out there but we can't help them all even though we mights want to. With the Riley work & the missing kids, I'm concerned we may try to spread ourselves too thin getting involved with even more at this point.

I agree with Ken. I think we should focus on one philathropic endeavour for right now. Donating our time, money, and work is nice and all, but we are a Star Wars club. That's what we do. Doing too much might detract from that. Don't get me wrongo, you know me, I'm the liberal poster child, but when it comes to the focus of our club, I think we need to focus on that first and philanthropic endeavours second. I'm sure there are many clubs out there that don't do any charity work. Maybe we might want to consider a rotating charity focus, like do a different group each year.

E.G. you're right. We cant help them all. There may be a charity out there though that a member really feels deserves our attention. It may even end up taking over a charity that we already work with. It all depends on how important the IK feel about a given charity. I was just curious about how other members felt about different charities.
Later
Jedi Dad

Doing a different group each year dosent sound bad. Again I'm not trying to load us up with all of the charities of the world. I'm just curious about how others feel.

I think we should focus on Riley. Who likes Star Wars more then us, but children. Most adults laugh at us for making and wearing costumes and armor. They call us geeks. Children on the other hand love the costumes and armor. We should go there more often and do more to raise money for them. What better cause can there be than to help children overcome any number of medical problems. I say we pick one or two charities and do those charities well. The more we do to spread ourselves thin the more chance for burnout and the less effective we will be.

We are fans of Star Wars and what better way to spread the fandom than to brighten the face of a child and let the community see that we can make a difference with our obsession. We can be more than inbred geeks to the adult community.

Now for a word from Sally Struthers.

IMHO, I agree that we focus on one, and I think Riley kids would be high up on the list.

"Now for a word from Sally Struthers"

That reminds me of South Park!!

Helping a charity doesn't necessarily have to be giving money out of our own pockets, it can come from just being there. There are RIF and Headstart programs in town that need people to read to children. There are also ways to help children's charities in the way of being a tutor. I know that there is an organization on the city's East Side that feeds and tutor hundreds of children every week. These are kids whose family's are running electrical cords across Washington Street and whose meals during the school year come from school. Don't let the thought of having to give out money all the time stop you from doing for someone who needs it. Let me know if you decide on something and I will be there to help.

Good point! Maybe we could keep Riley as an Umbrella and also do various other things.
E.G. in the Fall, we all collect our used summer clothes and give them to a shelter or something.
(My bias comes through)
There's one called Holy Family where homeless families go and they're always looking especially for kids' clothes and toys.

Kids Toys!

I know lots of people who have star wars toys sitting around their homes. Some of them are still in their original packages. Maybe we could all just donate those things.

Come on Sith Council, it's for the children.

I've seen some groups collect for the Christmas season charity 'shop with a cop' where a fire fighter or police officer goes out with an underpriveliged child to help them do their Christmas shopping for the childs family. The only rule is that the child has to buy at least 1 thing for themselves. I also think the 'coats for kids' type idea that NQ brought up is good.

When does a cop not stink??

When he is off duty!!

HA HA HA HA!!

HEY!!! I don't stink! I just took a bath! lol

The Charity for the poor girls at the Red Garter.

I will select a group to go and investigate the situation and report back.

They all need our support.

Tk

I think we can handle more than one charity. With almost 60 members in the IK and with the Bloodfin 2 charities should be a snap. There is also the idea of having 1 main charity and 1 that changes each year. To assist only 1 seems like a waste.

Technically, drinking beer helps dogs and cats find a good home.

Amen, brother.