Pink Ribbons and Red Dresses

[neadods]

First, the advertisement:

The American Heart Assn. is sponsoring Go Red for Women to raise awareness for heart disease in women. They are encouraging women to wear red this Friday, there is information for action, for personal health, and a store. You can also sign up for a free red dress pin.

Second, the morose philosophizing:

Of course there's a pin. Everything is either a pin, ribbon, or rubber bracelet these days. And yet despite Think Before You Pink and the Wash Post article about students wearing rubber bracelets as a fad item instead of a mission statement, at least the makers and the runners of the campaign are doing something to raise awareness. And that's never bad. So I have signed up for a red dress pin; I will look through my closet for something scarlet.

But...

How many causes are too many? What is the line between aiding a cause and just making meaningless gestures? Considering my recent family history, I'm tempted to jump on the Go Red campaign in a big way. But I'm wrestling with the charity equivalent of my costuming dilemma of a week ago - the idea that I should be doing some certain pre-determined amount of effort in order to show myself worthy to some external scorekeeper. (I did, by the way, buy two more dresses and a bodice.) I don't want Go Red to take over from the women's rights or religious freedom or Team Wench charities I'm already working for, and then there is the charity that I kinda sorta wanted to bring into Team Wench and THEN there's the scholarship that my parents are trying to fully fund.

What do I owe them all?

I know the answer is "what you're willing to give" but sometimes that doesn't seem enough.

Comments

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

I know the answer is "what you're willing to give" but sometimes that doesn't seem enough.

I know it probably doesn't help much, but... If it were really enough, there wouldn't be any charities any more. We wouldn't need them. They'd be done.

If that's not what you mean by "enough," then you have to ask "enough for what?"

[neadods.livejournal.com]

then you have to ask "enough for what?"

And that's kind of a biggie question. I don't even know how to even define the terms of "goal to reach" and "enough" for Really Big Stuff like Go Red or Breast Cancer. And as far as NARAL and ACLU are concerned, there is no such thing as enough - so far, my participation seems to be limited to throwing out requests for even more money for unspecified purposes.

(I'm starting to agree with Mo, who dropped Southern Poverty Law Center "because they pissed away my donation by spending it on letters begging me for more.")

Yet on the other hand, I can do things like, oh, advertise the cause in my LJ. But is that "enough"?

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

Advertising the cause in my LJ got me at least a couple of hundred dollars worth fo donations last year.

[wiliqueen.livejournal.com]

Yet on the other hand, I can do things like, oh, advertise the cause in my LJ. But is that "enough"?

Maybe a more constructive question is "is it helping?" Wanting it to be "enough" -- especially if we can't answer "enough for what?" -- is more likely to lead to burnout and frustration than anything else.

That's how people trap themselves into thinking what they do doesn't count. It does. If one person gets a meal, a coat, job training, legal assistance, whatever, even if it's just becuase you wrote a check or cleared out something "extra"? It counts.

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

MS came out with not only one of those wristbands for hope this year (being sold through MD Giant Pharmacies by the way), but they came up with a svarovski crystal charm bracelet with the silver hope ribbon on it. Dang.

The one thing about all of these tchackis for a cause tho is that not only do they raise awareness of the problem, they also raise money for the causes, albeit a small amount of money. But if everyone in the country spent one dollar on a piece of five cent rubber for a cause, then that'd be one hell of a stipend going to the cause.

I do know what you mean, though. I want to help with every TW cause we have, but I find myself at the point where I'm stretching myself too thin... But you have to remember, there's only so much of you to go around, and if you don't push for your own cause, not many people will.

You have to pick your battles for charities just like you pick your battles in the rest of your life.

*HUGS* It never seems like enough. But it has to be, or you wipe yourself out in the process.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

But if everyone in the country spent one dollar on a piece of five cent rubber for a cause, then that'd be one hell of a stipend going to the cause.


Really good point there.

There's never enough time, there's never enough money. I have a feeling that I'm going to end up budgeting and wedging specific issues into my annual "to do" list... "Attend TW Pyrate Feast, donate # raffle items, and spend minimum of $ on raffle tickets." And so on.

Which reminds me, is TW still doing the 5-mile walk? I need to start doing that again.

[faireraven.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me, is TW still doing the 5-mile walk? I need to start doing that again.

YES!!! :)

I posted it to TW a couple of weeks ago...

http://2005mswalk-md.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=72557&lis=1&kntae72557=BA5B189DB90D4900B136B7F8C693D5FC&team=826219

That's the link for TW! :)

Please, join! :) We're doing it in garb this year, but if you're not walking (I seem to recall something about your knees), Julie will be one of the non-walking but garb-wearing wenches! :)

Cyd

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I can walk. I was under orthopedist orders last time, but y'know what? My knees feel a lot better when I'm *not* doing what he tells me to do. So I'll make a point of getting my fat fanny on the treadmill and getting up to 5 miles of walking at a shot.

Garb in April... hmmm. Will think on appropriateness. May make something special for it, as am also considering asking if TW wants to join the Go Red heart health walk in October, and that would be fun to do in garb too.

[tchwrtr.livejournal.com]

Yup, pick your battles.

There are a few things I'll WORK for--Breast Cancer and Alzheimer's and MS.

Breast Cancer scares me silly. Alzheimer's scares me empty. and MS has touched my family, and my friends. So these I'll work for.

However, we also support other causes in Team Wench, and we also support the local SPCA whenever we can. If a kid on the street is fundraising, we throw cash at them (as much to keep the house from being egged as to support the local band). We also support charities through work--with our money.

I'm a little scared to look at our charitable donations for last year's taxes--it's hefty.

But we choose to WORK for few causes. You have to be able to pare back and focus, or you aren't fully effective at any of them.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

You have to be able to pare back and focus

Which is true, but also hard. I'm thrilled to see that you're dedicating PfF to Alzheimers, because I was going to suggest it (history thereof in my family, and my idea of rotting in hell).

And yet, Go Red is certainly topical. The real question here is, is getting a pin and advertising it on my LJ "enough"? Do I need to shift focus away from other causes I was going to champion in order to have the focus? (I might feel free to do so, if you're taking up Alzheimers as your pet project.) And other difficult-to-answer questions.

[starcat-jewel.livejournal.com]

It's never "enough" -- as someone pointed out upthread, if it were, these charities wouldn't need to exist. So the question becomes, how much can you reasonably do without burning yourself out physically and/or financially? Because otherwise, charity work will eat you alive. There has to be a balance.

Think of it like being back in high school or college. Remember, when every teacher handed out homework as though his class was your ONLY responsibility, and no one cared if that meant you had 8 hours' worth of writing and worksheets to do in one evening? You had to learn to prioritize then; that same skill can help you now, because every one of these charities is just as convinced as your teachers were that THEIR cause is The Big Important One That Should Get All Your Effort. But they don't get to decide that; you do.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Good analogy!