Fri, January 29, 2010 - 10:16:28

Small Donations Have a Big Impact

In our book, THE POWER OF SMALL: Why Little Things Make All the Difference and here on the SMALL Blog, we’ve told you how small donations can make a world of difference, here in the U.S. and abroad.  But, as the crisis in Haiti continues to unfold and reports of seemingly endless suffering dominate the headlines, we can’t underscore enough how even the tiniest contribution can have outsize effects.

On Friday, we explained how organizations of all sizes are using innovative approaches to overcome this enormous problem one little step at a time, from the American Red Cross’ highly successful text message campaign, to the Davis family’s efforts in Winston-Salem North Carolina, where they are raising funds by selling $1 cups of hot chocolate.  Little by little, people across the nation are doing their part, and as Statesman Journal Executive Editor, Bill Church, writes in his Sunday column, the core ideas of THE POWER OF SMALL are spreading across the country to help affect real change in communities around the world.

Of course, in this challenging economic climate, we understand that sometimes it is simply impossible to give money to those who are less fortunate, no matter how much you want to help.  Fortunately, there are a number of other ways to donate like offering your services to a local non-profit organization, organizing food, clothing, or blanket drives through your local school or community association, or even by visiting websites like TheHungerSite.com and FreeRice.com, which has partnered with the World Food Programme to collect money for Haiti through its own text message fund drive and free online trivia game. 

Amid times of such massive crisis, it’s easy to feel powerless or assume that only those with the greatest assets can make a difference.  But, as the events of the past two weeks have shown, in the face of tragedy, you don’t have to make a grand gesture to have a real effect.  Dollar by dollar, brick by brick, and bit by bit, we can all work together to make this “small world” a better place.

How are you doing your part?  Tell us your SMALL stories with a comment!

Posted by Linda and Robin