I know you wanna donate...
Ok, so good news! In one week, all of you awesome people helping my community and me donated $650 to the "Community Technology Center" project meaning that we now need $7,848! Thanks to everyone who donated!
For those of you who didn´t have time or thought, "later"...well, what about now? :) You can do it (I can hear the guy from Waterboy yelling that) here.
Oh, and someone voiced a concern that the Peace Corps site wasn´t secure because it is missing the "lock" image that most secure sites have. (And rightly so; we´re all told to NEVER submit data on a site without that lock to protect ourselves against identity theft!) However, on the page BEFORE entering your credit card information, there is the following notice:
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Why This is a Secure Transaction:
The secure server software (SSL) that processes Peace Corps donations is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your personal data including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read as the information travels over the Internet. You can tell when you are protected by encryption — the lock or key at the bottom of your browser changes color or is no longer broken. To use this option, you must have a browser that supports SSL ( e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer, AOL, or Netscape Navigator).
Due to the layout of our transaction web pages, a secure connection icon may not be visible in your browser window at certain times. This occurs because outer frame information (pictures, fund and/or project details, etc.) does not require SSL security and would significantly increase the wait time during the checkout procedure. However, as stated above, all pertinent ordering information is encrypted using state-of-the-art SSL technology and is secure from tampering by outside sources.
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So, back to the raising money part. I know, I know, you´re all dying to know: "What ELSE can I possible do to help out my good friend Michelle?" :) Well, I just happen to have some suggestions!
This is pretty self-explanatory...spread the word to others who (A) work in any of the companies listed in #3 and/or (B) may be interested in participating in projects like this. :)
2) Put donation cans around your office/church
My friend Karen emailed me this great suggestion. This way, you can help me out by (A) spreading the word about my work and educating others about El Salvador WHILE drumming up support for this specific project! Thanks for the suggestion, Karen!!
3) Check the recent "matching" list
Check the list below for businesses that HAVE recently supported a Peace Corps project (and this is a RECENT list, meaning that there are probably a lot more that have done it in the past!) If your company is NOT on the list, well, then YOU can be the very important person to add it and if it IS on this list, ask them if they´re willing to support this project too! And if you need to fill out paperwork and don´t have time, scan it and I´ll fill it out so all you have to do is sign it! (I like to make it as easy as possible!) :) There is more info regarding matching gifts here.
- A. D. Marble Company matched a gift to support a latrine and sanitation project in Ghana.
- American International Group (AIG) matched gifts to support a mentoring program in Ukraine and a youth group in Uganda.
- Analog Devices, Inc. matched a gift to support a health clinic in Niger.
- AON Foundation matched a gift to promote diversity and multicultural acceptance in Romania.
- AXA Foundation matched a gift to support a summer school program in Malawi.
- BAM Studio matched a gift to support grain mill construction project in Togo.
- Bank of America matched gifts to support women in development camp in Romania, to improve sanitation in Togo, to purchase English textbooks in the Ukraine, and to the Tsunami Relief Fund.
- Bear Stearns matched gifts to support the Tsunami Relief Fund.
- Black and Decker matched a gift to support a resource center for teachers in Moldova.
- BP Foundation matched a gift to improve a kindergarten in Moldova and repair a pre-school and community center in Togo.
- Branch Banking & Trust matched a gift to support a primary school renovation in Tanzania.
- Countrywide matched a gift to support a project which will provide furniture for a school in Azerbaijan.
- Deutsche Bank matched a gift to bring potable water to a community in Ghana.
- Financial Security Assurance Inc. matched a gift to build a well in Togo.
- GAP Foundation matched a gift to support a gender and development conference in Morocco.
- Genentech matched a gift for development projects in Panama.
- GlaxoSmith Kline matched a gift to support a computer-training center in Tanzania and a School and Community Center in Togo.
- Greif matched a gift to support a school cafeteria project in Moldova.
- Harcourt Education matched a gift to support a Foreign Language Teacher Association in Kazakhstan.
- Hatch Mott MacDonald matched a gift to build a garden well in Mali.
- Houghton Mifflin matched a gift to support Model UN project in Moldova.
- IAC Foundation matched a gift to the Tsunami Relief Fund.
- JP Morgan Chase matched a gift to develop an internet café in the Ukraine and a gift to build a garden well in Niger.
- Land America Foundation matched a gift supporting a basketball court project in Togo.
- McMaster-Carr Supply Company matched a gift to improve sanitation in Togo.
- Mentor Graphics matched a gift to support a Youth Summer Camp in Burkina Faso.
- Microsoft matched gifts to support a Library in Ghana and the HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education Fund and Tsunami Relief Fund.
- Motorola Foundation matched a gift to support the HIV/AIDS fund.
- National Instruments matched a gift to provide science books for a secondary school in Ghana.
- Neiman Marcus matched a gift supporting a health sanitation project in Nicaragua.
- News America Inc matched a gift to support Peace Corps Tsunami Relief Fund.
- Overbrook Foundation matched a gift to support a health clinic expansion project in Thailand.
- Pfizer matched a gift supporting a national gender and youth development conference in Ghana.
- Putnam Saving Bank matched a gift to support a health clinic in Niger.
- RH Donnelly matched a gift to improve food security and small business enterprise in the Dominican Republic.
- Sallie Mae matched a gift supporting a Business Resource Center in the Ukraine.
- Tellabs matched a gift to support a Summer School project in Malawi.
- UBS Foundation USA matched a gift to support an orphanage library in the Ukraine.
- Wachovia Foundation matched a gift to improve sanitation in South Africa and to build a library in Guinea.
- Washington Mutual matched a gift to provided a school furniture in Ghana.
So, I added an entry onto the other blog about what I PLANNED to email about last week before I got the awesome news that we could all donate online to the project. Immigration in the United States. Hot topic right now, huh? Well, read my current thoughts in Benefits for Illegal Immigrants?. I would love to hear your thoughts on all of this (after you´ve donated to the project, of course!) which again, you can do HERE. :)Miss ya!
1 comment:
It is also important to note that the majority of illegal immigrants work with documents and therefore they and their employers pay taxes including social security.
As reported in the New York Times (and many other places):
"Taxes paid by undocumented immigrants go into the SSA’s “suspense file,” when the Social Security number does not match SSA’s records. In 2002, the suspense file grew by $56 billion in reported earnings, with about $7 billion in Social Security tax and $1.5 billion in Medicare tax paid. This tax contribution represents about 10% of the current Social Security surplus—the difference between what is being collected in Social Security taxes and what is being paid out in benefits."
That is why in the most policed area in Los Angeles, with video cameras all over, immigrants can purchase documents on the black market without a hitch. That is also why employers get notices that their employees social security numbers don't match, but on that same notice it tells them that they cannot terminate them for that.
When employers are discouraged from hiring workers with illegal documents, many of them will pay their workers under the table and the taxes will no longer be collected. Those taxes aren't only for social security, but also medicare, federal and state taxes.
If we are going to have illegal immigrants, we need to deal with them in a more humane fashion. Most of them are not here because they are hardened criminals, but just people looking for a better life for themselves and their families. They would be willing to pay for health and car insurance if that were an option. There is a benefit for them as well. In parts of Los Angeles a cop is surprised to pull over a driver who actually has a drivers license. Obviously the current system isn't working.
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