Literally, the Least You Can Do
Many out there are looking for ways to make an impact and help others. Since Donald Trump was elected President, the US has definitely seen an uptick in marches, rallies and other forms of activism increase. Or, it seems like more of these approaches are being publicized.
At the very least, more people are expressing an interest in taking action to help others or different organizations in some way. Just looking at how important charity, philanthropy and social causes are to the largest generation in the world and it becomes clear many people are looking to do good and make positive changes.
For some though, the trouble is these forms of help may seem a little overwhelming. Maybe it’s the whole having to give money part or maybe it’s because some folks would rather do their part in humble obscurity. Whatever the reason though, it doesn’t matter. There are plenty of ways to do good without putting forth one’s own money.
The following descriptions of several sites, extensions and apps for online and/or mobile based charities are literally, the least anyone can do if one is looking to make a difference and do a little good.
For the Searchers
For those who either open a ton of new tabs and/or find themselves revving up their favorite search engine, two charity apps to check out are Ecosia and Tab for a Cause.
Ecosia is a simple search engine with a simple premise; for every item searched through their browser, a tree is planted in Peru, Burkina Faso, Madagascar or somewhere in Indonesia. I realize many folks may feel attached to their search engine of choice and uncomfortable parting with it for too long. That’s OK, you can do what I do and only use it on the weekends.
Tab for a Cause is a browser extension that has an equally simple premise; for every tab open, one accumulates points that can be donated to a small list of sponsors who turn those points into cash. Essentially, every new tab opened creates more and more cash to give. The cool thing is, you can choose what charitable organization you wish to donate. However, it should be noted that this extension makes money by displaying advertisements. They’re not at all obtrusive, but for anyone like me who uses an ad blocker, this would need to be white listed. I like to build up my points and donate them at the end of each week to one of the eight charities partnering with Tab for a Cause. But you can do it anyway you feel comfortable.
There are several other charity based search engines that allow one to simply donate by searching the web, though I’m not as familiar with them or how they function.
For the Gamers
For something a little more stimulating, maybe check out freerice.com and/or the gaming app, Tree Planet.
Freerice.com is a site that is great for students of any age or if you need a refresher on certain subjects. One simply answers questions of increasing difficulty and each right answer donates rice through the United Nations World Food Program. The site even shows you how much rice you’re donating. It can seem tedious answering some simple math, science, English, geography or humanities questions, but keep in mind it’s to help feed starving children, and the questions only increase in difficulty in a gradual manner. I often queue up FreeRice.com to play whenever I’m watching a show on demand (or the rare time watching something live) and there’s an ad break.
There’s an app called Charity Tap, which is extremely similar to Freerice.com in premise, minus asking any school grade questions. Instead, it opts for having a player simply tap their phone to donate rice. The only catch though is that this is only available to iPhone users. I’m out of luck to play this game, but considering there are 700 million iPhones currently in use worldwide, it seems like there’s plenty of good folks out there who have an easy opportunity to do a little good.
For something a little bit more mobile friendly, one might want to check out the children’s game, Tree Planet, available on Android or Iphones. In Tree Planet, the object of the game is to “successfully rescue the baby tree, [then] we will plant the real tree for you!” Full disclosure, I haven’t actually played this game, but everything I’ve read and researched about it shows that people who have been playing this game have been making quite an impact.
For the Photo Fabulous
If you’re the type that’s into pictures, might I recommend Feedie and Donate A Photo.
Donate a Photo offers an unequivocally simple premise; each day donate/share a photo to this Johnson & Johnson charity and you can donate a dollar (one whole $1) to a selected list of charities of your choosing. It’s free and costs you nothing. Usually, people are only allowed to donate 1 photo per day, but a recent update of the app allows people at certain times/events to donate several photos a day for a limited amount of time. The photos you donate are uploaded to a public gallery for all to see and some may be used as promotional material for the app. It’s super easy to do, and while I don’t do this every day, I often remember to donate a photo whenever I find myself scrolling through my photo gallery, which is often enough for me to consider making use of this app.
Feedie is a do good photo based charity app that’s for folks that love sharing their meals all over social media. The app only requires two things from it’s users; grab a meal at a participating restaurant in your area, then snap a picture of your delicious meal and upload it to the Feedie app and your other socials. After that, your work is done as the participating restaurant “makes a donation equal to one meal to The Lunchbox Fund” according to the website. Easy-peasy. The only money you’re actually spending is however much it costs to grab a meal. For those who are into cooking or wanting to do more to fight hunger, there are other apps out there that revolve around food donation in some capacity.
Odds and Ends
If you, or someone you know, is a fan of yard sales or just enjoys giving things away, Forward, Reuse for Charity might be the app for you (or that someone you know).
Forward, Reuse for Charity is essentially Craigslist with a twist. The twist being that the money of the person buying whatever used thing you’re selling goes to the charity of your choice. Pretty simple, and handy if you’re looking to finish some last minute Spring Cleaning before summer arrives. Or, if you’re looking for a deal on something, you can totally buy it on here and know that you’re money is going to a worthy cause.
For Those Who’d Rather Just Donate
For those who’d rather go with the plain ‘Ol fashioned donation route (without giving away your own cash), there is a newer charity app on the scene; Tin Box. Full disclosure and transparency: I haven’t used these this particular app, mostly because it’s fairly new. But, I’m sharing anyway in case anyone feels more comfortable going this route.
Tin Box works like a normal charity, in that you donate money to a cause, but the money isn’t your own. Instead, according to Tech Times “the donations come from funds of the corporate sponsors. Of course, there is a catch: the sponsors get to display their ads on the mobile devices' screen for a time of five seconds tops.” On the flip side, a certain level of transparency is allowed in that users get to see and choose where the money is being sent!
It’s clear there are many ways to do good in the world, and while everyone has their own way of doing things, sometimes it can feel more like an obligation rather than doing something for kindness. Also, with the many ways the news media often portrays the state of the world, it can seem like there isn’t any good left in the world. It can feel like there’s nothing that can be done. But, even certain things that may seem like they’re just to kill time or as simple as taking a picture of our food, there’s always something we can do, even if it is something small.
If you enjoyed this little article in some shape or form, don’t hesitate to recommend, bookmark, share, whatever. Or not. It’s up to you. No obligation, no stress, no worries. Thank you for being.
