As a directory owner do you consider listing sites for the common good? Do you think about supporting issues that may be of importance to you or others around you? I've often felt that organizations and individuals who give of themselves for the benefit of others deserve some sort of support, and one way a directory owner can help is by finding and listing these kinds of sites. It can add quality content to your index and, you never know - your directory listing may just reach someone that can make all the difference to someone else, and it requires little of your time. In addition to sites like Wish.org, JustGive.org and Laptop.org, I recently added Got-Marrow.org and I encourage other directory owners to do the same.
We've routinely listed sites like these at random. Generally things that are community based, non-profit and as you said, for the common good! Good idea, and well worth mentioning here!
We have Organizations Category where our editors are adding that sort of sites all the time. This is what Internet Community is all about. fastreplies
Most definitely fastreplies Edited: You will find link, vote and review site in here http://www.amray.com/searches/People_,038_Places/People/
Thanks. With close to 100 views, I hope that there's some who have added the sites. Paying it forward is a good thing.
I do occasionally list sites because ive discovered them while using other sites, im always amazed at sites that i had no clue even existed and the quality of them leads to me wanting to add them to my directory. I dont go out of my way to list sites of charities, what i do like about adding a site that wasn't a paid submission and purely just one that i find useful is that its highly unliely that other directories will be listing that same site. I cant say that im doing it to make myself feel better, not doing a good deed or anything, they're not charity sites and im suspicious of some types of sites that appear a certain way to me. So im not exactly doing the same as yourselves, but will list something if i feel its useful enough. Maybe this put me off: http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1384084&highlight=charity
Hey Creed... thanks for starting this thread. If it helps, I know the recipient in this case. This isnt a standard charity organization where administrators suck money off the top and a fraction gets to the cause someone used just to get money. I built the site because I know her parents and am familiar with the situation. The PP link goes directly to the recipient, and the cost of building and maintaining the site is volunteer based. This is one of the few charity sites where literally 100% of the donations go to the stated cause. It's guys like Creed doing things like this thread that make you see the generosity of spirit in the webmaster community. Because of gestures like this, the site, which just went up this week, had 233 visits its first full day (yesterday)... 166 unique visitors from 23 countries. If you guys get a chance, stop by and visit the site. Even if you dont hit the PP link, drop a note to the girl in the well-wishes section. You have no idea what a difference little gestures mean to someone facing this sorta thing. Many thanks to those of you adding this in your directories. This is the sorta stuff the net was built to do.
The more that stop by the site, the better. I bet they'll add a listing or a link somewhere if they did. It's a win-win. Appreciate it. Not everyone - I don't see where you've added it to the site in your sig?
A worthy cause to support i hope she gets her operation and thanks for bring it to our attention. I see you have also mentioned some other reputable charities, don't forget concern.net and trocaire.org.
I know of someone in the city where i live that held a party kind of thing and sold tickets for it, wont say exactly for what in case they somehow came across this, but they made a story up about how they couldn't afford something, they held the party/event, raised more money than was expected but didn't offer to donate the excess to a similar thing, at the time of this event they purchased a new car, its obvious to me that the money for what they said they needed it for was to buy a new car. Some of my relatives attended this event, when i pointed out how they had all been scammed it was hard for them to actually say "yes, i know" but part of them was trying to avoid admitting to that because it makes them feel foolish. About a year before it i met the guy of the couple involved, there was something not right about him from day one, just how he spoke and how he came across to me set alarm bells ringing. Thats one case, it happens a lot though, all over the place. For me personally i lose trust in certain folk then, if i can afford to in the future, i would donate to a registered large charity in the UK, i know people are on salaries within the registered charities but its to have professional people running them, people who specialise in fundraising. I also wouldn't donate it for a pat on the back or to do it on behalf of a company if i own one in the future, because thats nothing more than using it as a way to promote a company. Its like how celebs donate a few grand when disasters happen but they want a mention for it, but theres anonymous businesses and well off families that donate sometimes millions and wish to remain unknown. The thing with this world is theres that many people in need, and as the saying goes "charity begins at home" and quite often theres something that could be done literally around the corner from where each of us live, but i bet very few of us would do anything about it, i dont, although i should, its not always about money or awareness for one case when its usually done with blind trust and no proof of where the money goes. I wonder if any of us would go out and mix with truely desperate people, prepare a meal for someone or offer to get the shopping in for an old neighbour? Or sit and chat with someone who is on the verge of having a breakdown or something. I bet none of us would do those thing "just because" so i personally feel that listing a site in a directory is of limited help. Do people search for sites to paypal money to in the evenings? Maybe to purchase but i doubt that people are falling over themselves to part with cash.
It's easy to doubt your fellow man, but if it's of any consolation to you, yes, I have. I have because while I'm not well to do by any means, I am more fortunate than others. I have because it just felt good to do so. I doubt there's people that search for sites with PayPal buttons for donations, but if a listing or link inadvertently helps reach someone who wants to make a difference in this person's life, isn't it worth it? It is to me, and that's why I do it.
That's exactly why this site was built. I'm as skeptical as you are about that sorta thing regularly. Every few years you hear that the head of United Way or some similar org got busted for skimming big bucks off the top, or that only 10 cents of every dollar collected went to some charity that ammassed huge donations. In this case I'm a little less skeptical because I've known me for a long time and will grudgingly take my word that this is a real person with a real need. That said... I plan to keep a close eye on me just in case. ---- Seriously...because of the collective work of people doing directory adds, FB notes, twitters, sigs, forum mentions... the site has had massive traffic for a startup. Those that are helping should IMO be proud of themselves, but if not, I sure as hell am proud enough of 'em for both of us. I still need to add another page on there to help push the search for a bone marrow donor cause they found out her sister isnt a match. Argh. Oh well, all you can do is keep moving forward. Many thanks to those that are lending a hand.