Smiles Bring Hope

Today I am going to talk about Smiles for Margaret, a nonprofit that was started in my town for a young girl named Margaret Walling. Just to give some background on this organization, it was started by Margaret’s parents after their 12 year old daughter died from complications with a malignant brain tumor. After most of the tumor was removed in 2012, Margaret was hopeful for recovery, but less than a year after the surgery, the tumor ruptured in her brain and spine. She passed away 13 months later in December of 2013. The organization was initially started to help pay for the medical bills incurred during Margaret’s treatment, but it has continued to help families that are going through similar situations because during Margaret’s recovery period she wanted “to help other families like [hers]”. Therefore, even after Margaret’s passing the organization continues to fulfill her wishes.


The mission of this organization is “to address, educate, coordinate, and provide aid and relief to chronically ill children and US veterans of war”. The mission statement includes US veterans of war because Margaret’s father is a veteran. Therefore, because Margaret wanted to help families like hers, Margaret’s parents decided to extend the scope of the organization. However, their main program is turning over the funds they receive to families with children battling pediatric cancer. Smiles for Margaret asks families if they need help so the families do not have to ask themselves. Therefore, the organization seeks out families in need so they do not have to spend time trying to find financial support during an already stressful situation. Once the money is given to families, they are able to use it as they see fit with most applying it to medical bills. The organization also holds events to raise emergency funds for families or money to buy gifts for children.


Smiles for Margaret is relatively new, just getting its 501(c)3 verification in 2014. Because of this, their gross receipts are not greater than $50,000 so they only have to fill out a 990-N(e-postcard). There is very little financial information on it, but I have attached it if you would like to look it over. The organization is ran by a board of 3-15 directors. The directors are not paid for their duties, but can be reimbursed for expenses that they incur while fulfilling their responsibilities, such as travel costs for attending board meetings. Therefore, even a small donation goes a long way because the organization has very little operating costs, allowing for almost all of of the proceeds to go directly to the families that need the support.


Most of the donations have come from the support of people in the community. This ranges from students at the local middle school having lemonade stands with all the proceeds going to the organization or clubs at the high school holding fundraisers with partial proceeds going to the organization. However, their largest event is the annual Huff and Puff After You Stuff 5K walk. This event is amazing because the entire community comes together to support the organization and everything is planned by the family with the help of volunteers. In high school I was able to volunteer at this event and it was incredible to see the profound effect the organization has on the families who were also going through what the Walling’s had to endure. Families that have received donations from Smiles for Margaret attend the 5K walk and are able to speak about the positive impact the extra money had in their life, as well as thank the organization and its volunteers for the support they were receiving. The families are grateful for having extra financial support as it is one less thing to worry about when their child is going through chemo and radiation treatments.


Although Smiles for Margaret lacks in financial statistics that are often used as a touchstone for the effectiveness of a nonprofit, it gives families in need much more than financial support. The success of Smiles for Margaret creates hope for these families, as it shows them that even after the death of their child, their memory can live on. Smiles for Margaret has become a symbol for families with children battling cancer that there is hope for the future. Although small, Smiles for Margaret has been making a big impact. I hope you guys consider donating our money here as it can benefit families, like Margaret’s, both financially and emotionally. Even a small donation can make a big difference.





Here are the links for their website and Facebook page:


https://www.facebook.com/SmilesForMargaret/




http://www.smilesformargaret.org/portfolio.html

In My Father's Kitchen

Hi everyone! Before I begin to describe this incredible organization I have looked into, I'd like to ask you all a question:

When you think of a homeless person, what do you imagine?

Do you picture a drug addict? An alcoholic? A lazy bum? Although I'm sure you don't perceive these individuals in such an unforgiving and unflattering light, unfortunately, these perceptions are stigmas that many people buy into which hinder them from wanting to offer them help. Yes, of course there are homeless addicts and alcoholics. However, there exists a great majority of homeless people who just simply ran into hard times. Nevertheless, are we to deny someone in need our help and compassion due to an illness they cannot control?

John Tumino, a former chef and registered minister, noticed how ignored and desolate the homeless population in his local city of Syracuse, NY truly was. In a leap of faith, he quit his job as chef in a well-known local restaurant in 2011 and funneled his remaining resources into establishing a non-profit organization whose mission is “to build relationships with chronically homeless individuals they identify and meet the unique needs of homeless people not yet ready to leave the streets and who refuse to stay in emergency shelters.”

In My Father’s Kitchen (or IMFK for short) is self-proclaimed as "a faith-based organization offering non-denominational and non-discriminatory assistance to homeless people through direct street outreach." It tackles its mission by hand delivering roughly a dozen meals biweekly to those individuals living on the sides of roads or under bridges in a local area known as Erie Boulevard. Such meals consist of homemade lasagna, meatballs, and steak sandwiches—Tumino wants to express through the meals he gives to the homeless that they have value and are not invisible. Each boxed meal is equipped with the organization's contact information--and the organization is available and on-call to the homeless 24/7. In addition to delivering food, Tumino invested in a local house where those in need may meet with caseworkers, get cleaned up, have access to clothes, and/or use the bathroom. Recently another house has been donated to this organization where Tumino plans to house women and children affected by domestic abuse.

Something unique and greatly admirable I found about this organization is how they are in no way pushy or aggressive with their services. Not all of the individuals they reach out to want their help and they accept that. On IMFK’s website they explain, “IMFK provides food and basic necessitates to homeless individuals where they live on the streets, on a consistent and compassionate basis, until the homeless individual is comfortable accepting help and working with community agencies to secure housing.” If and when an individual is willing to accept help that is more than just a meal, the organization will refer them to other organizations or case workers who can help them. Furthermore, the organization will follow up to ensure the homeless who have been housed remain that way. Over the course of the 6 years they have been functioning, IMFK has helped 70 people get off the street and achieve long-term shelter.

As far as how resources are allocated, in 2012 (one year after the organization was established) $25,000 out of the $36,000 donated to the non-profit was spent on food and outreach. $5,000 was given as a salary to the sole employee of the organization, and the remaining amount was spent on paperwork to start up the non-profit. The organization has one employee (Tumino), one full-time volunteer (his wife), and 60 local part-time volunteers.

Since each meal is valued at only $13, every donation is impactful. A donation of $100 would be able to feed 7 people or could greatly assist in the up keeping of the organization’s 2 houses. If you are so inclined, you could also buy a jar of sauce, some maple syrup, or coffee beans from the organization’s website, and all proceeds will go straight to the organization.

In conclusion, I believe this organization is worth donating to because it restores a certain dignity in a group of people who live under undignified conditions, and brings a visibility to a very ostracized group of people who desperately need not only help, but love and compassion. 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you all consider donating to this inspiring organization!

If you’d like to learn more, here is a link to their website…

http://inmyfatherskitchen.org/taste-see/

and an article about the organization and their impact on the community:

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/09/successful_syracuse_chef_trades_his_restaurant_for_the_streets.html

Rescue Mission

Hey Y'all! I’m super excited to share with you all about an organization that I care very deeply about. Today I will be sharing on the Binghamton Rescue Mission.

The Rescue Mission which began as an outreach programme for Erie Canal Workers and surrounding community members in 1887, is an organization that currently provides programs to end hunger and homelessness in Binghamton, Syracuse, Auburn, and Ithaca. Initially, the Rescue Mission embodied spreading the Gospel of Christianity and demonstrated it through humanitarian services such as meals and medical care. As time went on the Rescue Mission opened a Lodging House for transients and longer-term residents, and served thousands of meals. They hold a tradition of sheltering and feeding those in need, the foundation on which their mission lies, along with programs tailored specifically to the needs of each community they operate in.

The Binghamton Rescue Mission provides residence for men who were experiencing homelessness or are referred by local agencies.At the mission, residents are served 3 meals to remove the pressure of having to provide their own meals. A case manager is available to work with residents to develop an individualized plan to set and achieve goals and lead a more stable, independent life. They offer employment resources, spiritual care, transportation to employment and important appointments, and connection to other support services. The Binghamton Rescue Mission is what you would call a place for new beginnings as it seeks to give its residents a second shot at life. Many of the men at that are housed at the Rescue Mission experienced homelessness as a result of substance abuse and as such lost everything that they had, including family. The goal of the Binghamton Rescue Mission is to help the men recover from their previous circumstances to a place where they will hopefully have the ability regain what they have lost.

What I admire about the Binghamton Rescue Mission is the real impact that they have made in the lives of the people they serve. I have volunteered at the organization as well as heard many phenomenal stories from the men about how the Rescue Mission has changed or is currently changing their lives. This is an organization which has proven itself to be effective in achieving its mission of ending hunger and homelessness by giving men who had previously experienced both an opportunity to renew themselves. The truth is sometimes all people need is a bit of support to change their situation and this is exactly what the Binghamton Rescue Mission provides.

I have participated in a sleep out in Hinman in partnership with the Rescue Mission which serves as a simulation of what homelessness is like. That experience completely changed my life. The truth is I will never be able to fully relate to someone who has experienced homelessness but I definitely can empathize. That night, the difference between myself and the men from the Rescue Mission who came to share their stories was that they did not have a place to go when they got cold, but I did. The Rescue Mission is their safe haven and now provides them a place to call home until they are able to stand on their own two feet. The amazing thing about the Binghamton Rescue Mission is that there is no limit on the time in which the men are allowed to stay at there, as such the men have the opportunity to work on building themselves up without the added pressure that they may be at risk of experiencing homelessness again.

Not only does the Binghamton Rescue mission focus on supporting their residents but they also play a major role in the community. The staff, alongside their residents and volunteers, serve a monthly community meal open to those who are hungry at the United Presbyterian Church.This is very crucial for the community, as Broome County is known for having high rates of food insecurity among residents and through their monthly meals, the Mission is able to assist many families.

I believe this organization is worth supporting because it plays an important role to curb the issue of hunger and homelessness in Broome County. It is one that has made a tremendous impact on the lives of the men that have resided there as well as contributed to the well being of the community.

View some of the testimonials about the work of the Binghamton Rescue Mission.

View the annual report here.

Statistical Philanthropy, Scientific Philanthropy, or Both?

After watching a TED talk, by Peter Singer, I was quite intrigued and moved by something that he had mentioned. Mr. Singer’s TED talk began with a tragic story of a young girl who had been ran over by a truck in a pedestrian accident. As soon as the accident occurred, which had been caught on camera, two individuals had walked by the poor girl and did not even think to stop and help. Mr. Singer asked the audience how many of them would in fact have stopped to help. Everyone raised their hands immediately, as was expected. However, Peter Singer remarked that their immediate altruistic response to the poor little girl may not have been the case. Mr. Singer responded to the audience by explaining that altruism, is not necessarily dependent on a certain type of individual character, rather a certain type of situation. In fact, he explained that the act of “altruism” must be synonymous to its own effectiveness.₁ Hence, the coined term: “effective altruism.”

This concept of effective altruism can be viewed within a variety of disciplines. In fact, there was a fascinating study published through the school of behavioral science in Santa Fe, in regard to the effect evolution may have on human interactive behavior. The study describes this concept of “gene culture” in which a certain action that benefits the human condition can become encoded into our genes and therefore passed down.2 One can interpret the pedestrian scenario, that Mr. Singer mentions, through this scientific lens. It could be that those who did not approach the hurt little girl could have been lacking this genetic component, hence the inability to give altruistically (without reciprocation). One could also derive, then, that a person either can give or cannot and that their effectiveness is what determines their own benefit.

This raised a question within me. A constant discussion in our course, is the contradiction of whether philanthropy must be motivated by our passions, our intellect, or both. In Mr. Singer’s TED talk, he dismisses this ongoing debate by replacing it with his discussion of “effective altruism”. Mr. Singer gives various examples of individuals who research the amount of good a specific action can do, and not a certain type of individual whom he or she can influence.₁ In other words, to Peter Singer and his followers, philanthropy is a means to statistically acknowledge a needy minority of some sort, and to provide for them in the most efficient way possible. It does not matter if those in need are in worse circumstances than others, or if by helping “them” (the needy minority) philanthropists are more closely aligned with their own core values. Peter Singer explains that the core value of giving itself, this genetically motivated action, and the understanding of a need of effective consistency is what is most important.

I find this fascinating and quite surprising. After so much discussion, it amazes me how with one lecture, the “head vs. heart” debate can be put to the side and settled with this eye-opening statistical approach to philanthropy. It could be that I am biased due to the fact that I am a health major who finds comfort in statistical significance. However, I truly believe, both my head and heart can be satisfied with a type of giving that helps the greatest amount of people, and I hope that I am lucky enough to contain the gene that can allow for its effectiveness.

Sources:
 https://www.ted.com/talks/peter_singer_the_why_and_how_of_effective_altruism?language=en
 “A framework for the unification of the behavioral sciences” https://www-cambridge-org.proxy.binghamton.edu/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/0D83E7AF2BC662608441385D5C46EBE7/S0140525X07000623a.pdf/towards_uniting_the_behavioral_sciences_with_a_genecentered_approach_to_altruism.pdf