How to be a Modern-Day Hero

How To Be A Modern-Day Hero

    Marian: "You're a strange man."
    Robin: "Strange? Because I can feel for beaten, helpless people?"
    Marian: "No. You're strange because you want to do something about it."

- From "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938),
starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

Have you ever wished you could be a real-life Robin Hood? Here are some organizations that support the ideals expressed by the legend.

For starters:
The Robin Hood Foundation
Established in 1988, the Robin Hood Foundation fights poverty in New York City by applying investment principles to charitable giving. Their programs include the recently-developed Robin Hood Relief Fund to help the victims and families affected by the 9-11 disaster.

General Information
The following sites are good places to start when deciding on a suitable charity.

Give.Org
This site suggests that donors "investigate before you donate." This site provides information helpful in finding out more about charitable organizations and being sure that your gifts are going to the promised sources.

Helping.Org
If you wish to donate to or volunteer for a specific charity or cause, this useful site can help you find exactly the charity you're looking for, and help you locate suitable organizations in your area. Helping.org also offers many links for charitable organizations seeking helpful information.

The Click Of Support
The Internet offers a unique method to fund charitable organizations -- and it doesn't cost you a cent! The following sites support various worthy causes, and with just a click of your mouse button, a separate sponsor contributes a small amount to the specified charity. You can donate daily to fight hunger, support the environment, promote health, and provide aid to other pressing needs.

A Pillar In The Community
The following are sites of more traditional organizations, where you can donate time, money, or goods to help various worthy causes.

The Salvation Army
Your donation helps the Salvation Army provide assistance in times of crisis - whether that crisis is international, local, or personal.

Habitat for Humanity
This international organization builds homes for low-income families. If you haven't the means for financial donations, check this site for an affiliate in your area, pick up a hammer and help build someone a new home!

Stop Family Violence.Org
This national site provides links to local violence shelters, and provides information on lobbying legislators to fund support for needed facilities and services. In the same vein, the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides toll-free numbers for those needing help and assistance.

Four-Footed Friends

Dickerson Park Zoo
This is the web site for our local zoo, including their FOZ (Friends of the Zoo) program. Check your local zoo and ask about FOZ! Members not only support the zoo, but also receive free yearly admission to zoos around the country. Zoos offer many oportunities for people to volunteer, or even to "adopt" a specific zoo animal via donations for its yearly care.

Save Our Strays - the Humane Community of America
This site provides links to finding humane shelters and animal rescue societies in your area. It also provides information on care and assistance for pets and strays. With so many unwanted pets literally dying for a little love, check for the nearest shelter in your area to find out how to donate supplies, funds, or time - or provide a home for an abandoned kitten or puppy.

These links are only a tiny fraction of the many methods by which we can help individuals, our community, our environment, and even our fellow creatures - and by doing so, help ourselves. On or off the Web, there are a multitude of opportunities to be a modern-day Robin Hood.

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