The Second-Chance Charity

My wife and I give money to our church. While I understand that not everyone who reads this blog is a Christian or even a church-goer, I think we probably all have people in our lives who go to church and give to church work. Alicia and I believe whole-heartedly in missions, particularly overseas, but at home also. Because we believe this way, we give this way.

But we also believe in finding a cure for cystic fibrosis. We don't honestly give nearly as much to cystic fibrosis research as we do missions/church work. I don't feel that this is a contradiction or an ethical blunder. It's reality for us. God blessed our first and second fundraising expeditions despite the fact that most of our charitable giving went to church instead of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

And we give to other groups too. I have supported open source software (no different than buying Windows or Office in my opinion) and we have supported family members in their charity work as well. Again, I don't feel remorseful about this.

The reason I mention all of this is because a lot of money right now is going to Haiti, and rightfully so. It's not wrong for people to support the rebuilding effort. But it doesn't mean that the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has to lose out. In fact, I continued to raise money for my half marathon despite the other issues going on.

So I don't get upset when people tell me that they already have a charity that they give to. No problem at all actually. In fact, I understand their position because I also already give to another charity. My only question to these folks is: Can you spare a few dollars for this charity as well? You see, I am the second-chance charity. As so many of our CFers are given a second chance at life through lung transplants, so do I believe in getting a second chance to raise money to find a cure.

So don't feel down or bad if someone is already supporting a charity. We are the disease of second chances, and we can raise funds the same way.