As many of you may have read, I have been giving some of my free time to a local charity. The charity has faced hard times recently because of government cut backs. The majority of their budget had come through government grants and private donations. With the recession, both avenues of funding went down quite a bit. The new deficit plan will probably completely end any type of government help the charity can receive.
Please continue reading to learn more about things I've come across while volunteering.
This charity specializes in helping children in need. Right now, they are focused on ensuring children living in poverty have the proper school supplies they need. One of my fellow volunteers is a laid off public school employee. She came in this morning and just started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and it turns out her husband, a custodian for the school district, has also been laid off. This is the direct result of spending cuts. Spending cuts do not create jobs, that much is certain.
The good news is the charity will be able to help over 50 students with their school supplies due to a donation from a local company. Small businesses such as these help keep small charities like this alive.
One of my top projects has been to renegotiate a loan the charity took out to meet some of its needs. The charity used its building as collateral for the loan. The loan still had a ridiculous interest rate, and the charity was on the verge of default. After speaking with several small community banks, I have finally found a bank that will cut the interest paid in half. Goodbye big bank, hello community bank. I would encourage everyone to use community banks or credit unions. It has been extremely clear to me that big banks do not care about people at all.
I posted a diary yesterday about how I got a job. I plan to volunteer with this charity on the weekends even while I work. They lack the resources to pay anyone a salary, and for years their finances have been in disarray, not because of mismanagement, but just because they did not have any qualified to handle them.
I fear that more and more people are going to be laid off due to these spending cuts at both a state and national level. Cuts do not create jobs. More and more people will be in need as the economy continues its slide. Please support your local charities, and also do business with small local companies in your community. These small businesses are typically locally owned and employ local people. The profits in these business are reinvested in the community. I have made it my mission to stay away from national chains as much as possible.