Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Happy Halloween, y’all...


A bitch adores Halloween…the caramel apples…the multitudes of Smarties…the additional chocolate based candy…and the candy that is always left over.

Sigh.

This holiday kicks ass!

A bitch read the news that a certain Oprah gifted her studio audience with…well, with the gift of giving back and was intrigued. Apparently, Ms. O gave $1,000 gift cards to each audience member. The total amount distributed was $300,000.

"Imagine the love and kindness you can spread with $1,000." Oprah said.

Folks can give the money to one person or spread the wealth. Basically, Oprah wanted people to experience the joy of giving money and/or the things money can getcha…which this bitch supports, since money can get a lot of necessary things.

Money is a necessary thing and anyone who has volunteered or worked for a non-profit knows that shit…big time! So, this bitch is glad that Oprah took the time to pitch the emotional benefits of gifting. Shit, she’s even going to do a follow up show with footage shot by audience members, who were given DVD recorders to document their giving moments!

Mmmhmm…someone’s very clever...very, very clever.

A bitch has given money and a bitch has given of my time. Both are vital to our communities and should be valued and emotionally inspiring.

In the interest of balance (okay, a bitch knows my audience ain’t shit compared to Oprah’s…but y’all are exceptionally fantabulous) a bitch would like to pump up the volunteer side.

This bitch started volunteering because my ass was and is broke but my License to Bitch requires that I practice what I preach (wink). Volunteering provides an understanding of my community that I simply could not gain from a distance.

When I moved back to St. Louis I was amazed by the huge variety of organizations, clubs and projects that I could volunteer in support of. So many opportunities…so few volunteers. Some of those opportunities required long term commitments while others could be done in a few hours with friends. All contained the unique satisfaction of physically and emotionally giving back.

I became a volunteer because I wanted to address a need in my community…being a volunteer has addressed the need in me and fed a hunger I wasn’t even aware was there.

Anyhoo...

You’ll will soon get hit with fundraising pitches, invitations, mailings and phone calls. A bitch will probably hit y’all up to support some of my favorite things (wink) too.

But I’d also like to encourage y’all to sample the variety of giving options…your check book is one and your time is another. Keep in mind that volunteering can be a very good thing for everyone involved!

A bitch hopes that y’all have a safe and properly naughty Halloween…

6 comments:

Kit B. said...

Happy Halloween to you too, Bitch! I'm hoping your "Activist" costume goes/went over well.

Don't forget Dia de los Muertos on Nov. 2 :)

Anonymous said...

I couldn't agree more. It's nice to give if you have it, but my time organizing for my union was worth more than any check.

Dixie said...

Great reminder that the time we freely give to a cause can change lives.

Anonymous said...

Yup. Giving a little time, a little money, a little smile and thankyou always helps feed the soul.

I do what I am good at. I am impressed by people who do what I think I would be no good at, ie, mentoring a child/teen, being a court-appointed child advocate, etc.

NancyP

Anonymous said...

Oprah became victim to her own ego years ago. She looks hot tho! She's also the most popular TV programme in Iraq. I wonder if she's got voo-doo mind control over the masses.

~Macarena~ said...

Oprah gave gift cards that aren't to particular stores? Debit cards? I don't care for the constraint of a brand card.

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