Love, Beauty, and Charity

Inasmuch as love grows in you, in so much beauty grows; for love is itself the beauty of the soul.
Augustine of Hippo

There is a variant translation to this quote.

“Beauty grows in you to the extent that love grows, because charity itself is the soul’s beauty.”

Philanthropy is love in action. Through your actions, through your philanthropy, through your charity, you share your love for the world with the world. When love is shared, love grows making yourself and the world a little more beautiful.

In whatever way that looks like in your life, I want to thank you for bringing more beauty, more love, more charity, and more change to this world.

As 2017 comes to a close, we mark the end of another year at Change Gangs. It was a great year, and together we donated $13,683 to great charities around the world. Since we founded, we’ve given $65,243.50 to nearly 100 different charities.

Here are our final recipients of the year.

People for Pets Giving Circle

This year, the Pets Giving Circle gave $5,335 for a total of $25,833 to great pet charities. For our last donation in 2017, we chose Big Bones Canine Rescue.

Big Bones is a 100% volunteer based shelter and foster based rescue network for all breeds of Mastiff and Great Danes. They receive dogs that are about to be euthanized from shelters in CA, TX, OK, KS, and NM. They have a 13 acre property in Windsor, CO with 4 buildings that can hold up to 30 dogs. All the dogs have indoor and outdoor areas that they can access, plus there are isolated kennels to keep new or sick dogs until their health and temperament can be assessed. In 2015, they adopted out 598 dogs. In 2016, they adopted 860 dogs- 250 of whom were puppies.

Poverty Busters

This year, Poverty Busters donated $4,727.50 for a total of $26,460. For our last donation in 2017, we chose Project Self-Sufficiency.

Located in Loveland, CO, Project Self-Sufficiency creates opportunities for single parent families to become selfpowered by providing intensive support to parents who are ready to build new career pathways. When participants enter the program they are partnered with a skilled advisor who helps them calculate a living wage for the family and then customizes a career planning curriculum and time frame for meeting that living wage. While in school or training for a new career, participants receive help to improve the family’s health (physical and mental), access to reliable transportation, child care, and affordable housing. It can take several years to graduate from the program.

Veterans Giving Circle

This year, the Veterans Giving Circle donated $2,745.50 for a total of $10,625. For our last donation in 2017, we chose War Horses for Heroes.WarHorses for Heroes provides equine-assisted therapy to veterans who have sustained service-related mental or physical injuries. As a therapy partner for those with mental illness, a horse is intuitive and non-judgmental, providing a trusting and open environment for processing and healing. Veterans with histories of depression or PTSD who participate in equine assisted therapy experience consistent improvement in depression symptoms and increased sociability. Veterans with physical injuries also benefit. Horseback riding benefits the rehabilitation process because the rhythm of a horse’s gait is similar to that of a human’s. It provides the sensation of movement to those with severe injuries affecting mobility. Veterans with spinal cord injuries or other physical disabilities experience improved muscle strength and better balance after participating in equine assisted therapy programs.

Do you want a donation team?

I’d love to welcome you to one of our giving circles. Just click here to choose the cause you care about most.

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About Sharon

Throughout my life, I have donated to help animals, the environment, the homeless, the poor, the Food Bank, the Red Cross and more. You name it, and I’ve probably sent them money. Like many others in today’s economy, the few dollars I had left at the end of the month for philanthropy weren’t making a significant difference for the causes I cared most about– until I discovered the power of giving circles.

I'm dedicated to helping people make a big impact on the causes they care about most.

Quote

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead

Another Quote

Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them… he cried, “Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?” God said, “I did do something. I made you.” Sufi Teaching

Yet Another Quote

“What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” John Ruskin