¡Buenas noches maravillas del invierno! 💙
Tonight, I'm writing to you from Chios - an island famous for producing one of antiquity's most celebrated wines (purportedly after Bacchus flew over one night and 'inseminated' its fields with his... seed!). Today I've got another fortnightly selection of social ideas for you. As ever, these are little things that have come my way over the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!
1. Un llamamiento a las donaciones generosas: Apoyo urgente a Quíos - As Solange and I spend 2 weeks on Chios shipping pallets after pallets of AFE's education equipment to NGOs across Greece, the truth is that the situation here is much as it was all those years ago when we started. But there's less and less support available. As we sadly pack up, we're rallying together another time to raise €1,000 for two fantastic grassroots groups still providing essential shelter items, food, and legal support to refugees and asylum-seekers stuck here. At the time of writing, we're at €676 - introducir ¡por una naranja en tu calcetín esta Navidad!
2. Política de caridad a la que sonrío para no llorar: Catholic Relief Services Discriminación LGBTQ - CRS provides wonderful support to its staff and to their partners and spouses too. There's all manner of 'Equal Employment' policies, 'family-friendly' allowances and cosy perks. That is unless your partner's of the same sex. Unfortunately, "CRS diseña y lleva a cabo sus programas de prestaciones de acuerdo con los valores y las enseñanzas católicas. Esto se extiende a la naturaleza de los servicios prestados y a la determinación de la elegibilidad para la cobertura de dependientes, así como a la definición de matrimonio y relaciones conyugales." In effect, same-sex partners aren't eligible. Here's to hoping este valiente empleado puede ganar este derecho al llevar a CRS a los tribunales por este asunto.
3. Sus comentarios, por favor: Lotería de solidaridad - Lotteries are a big deal. So is there not scope for engaging many more people in donating to small charities by offering them big cash prizes at the same time as making a donation? ChatGPT helped flesh out this idea for me. What do you think? A sensible fundraising model? Why aren't more people doing it? Want to get involved? 💸❤️
4. Un hábito que tengo que cambiar: 45 días al año viendo la televisión - Ok. Here's the thing. What with films and the occasional series binge, I might be watching up to 2 hours of TV a day. In perspective, that's 56 hours a month = 672 hours a year = 42 waking days. Almost a month and a half of my year on Netflix and HBO. Looking forward, that's over 6 years out of the next 50 spent streaming. Am I happy spending 12.5% of my life watching whatever Netflix sells me next?
5. Funding tool I've come across: Elegir vacas: Lista de comprobación - I love this not only for its playful metaphor, but because I always see small charities throwing away time on funding bids that - chances are - they'll never get. When time is so tight, and money too, taking time to strategically choose where to send an application is so important! Waste less time on wild cows and start milking! 🐮 (Thanks for the great find, Jude!).
📣 Llamadas mías y de mi red
👨💻 ¿Necesita un sitio web impresionante? - check out GSF Creations, my new sustainable web design agency
🧡 Síndico de recaudación de fondos at Refugee Biriyani & Bananas (where I'm also a Trustee)
📱 Móvil honesto - use referral code jacobwarn1994 to join the UK's most sustainable network
That's it for this fortnight. As ever, please let me know your thoughts and feedback - and send anything you'd like me to include in upcoming editions this way.
