Please help the children of Honduras!

[itsmattxp]

First off, I’m sorry moderators if a post like this is not allowed; however, I think you’ll will understand where I’m coming from as it is truly for such a great cause. Over the past few years that I have been a member of Racketboy, I’ve talked and made trades with many of the members of the community and because of that I’ve had the opportunity to notice how close knit this community has become. Whether it was helping a fellow member fix their consoles, their games, or even their computer, the Racketboy community has been able to help. So with that in mind, I feel everyone will understand where I am coming from with this post and hopefully will decide to contribute.

Students Helping Honduras (SHH) is a non-profit organization. Our mission is to build schools and helping the children in Honduras get an education. By providing education for these children, we give them the opportunity to become the next leaders of Honduras. SHH has built schools, libraries, computer training centers and re-built an entire village that was devastated by a hurricane. Not only does this benefit the children of Honduras, but it also brings new appreciations and perspectives to those students who go on a service trip.

This past winter, twenty-seven Virginia Tech students spent eight days in Honduras living and working side by side with the families. They began building the Pimientera Elementary School. After three weeks the foundation and most of the walls have been built. Once completed the school will have three classrooms and hold fifty-two students. Unfortunately, to complete the school we need 30,000 dollars. With this money we will be able to finish the school and provide proper classroom materials.

Although SHH is an organization with multiple chapters at different colleges such as Clemson, University of Virginia, and University of Kentucky, I am here to help fundraise for Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech’s chapter of SHH will be fundraising all spring semester through benefit concerts, a cappella concerts, a 5K run, bake sales and a date auction. To reach our goal however, we need some help. Though these events will bring in a lot of money, it just won’t be enough to finish the school.

Most of the chapter has now ventured down to Honduras and have been completely inspired by the children. This is our chance to give them opportunities we take for granted everyday. We have millions of opportunities at our finger tips, lets use our opportunities and do something greater then ourselves. We can make a difference.

If each member were to contribute $10, we would be able to achieve our goal. All donations go 100% to the cause and are 100% tax deductible. This is for an amazing cause, thanks!

Matt

Here is a video about SHH:



To check our donations as a chapter:

http://fundraising.ceciskids.org/fundra ... php?id=137

Donations can be made here to my page:

http://fundraising.ceciskids.org/fundra ... php?id=216

[Luke]

Wu-Tang is for the children.

One quick question: If I donate $100, what total % of my donation (in dollars) goes directly to the cause (after overhead, and earnings before interest, taxes and deductions)?

[avrame]

Wu-Tang is for the children.

One quick question: If I donate $100, what total % of my donation (in dollars) goes directly to the cause (after overhead, and earnings before interest, taxes and deductions)?

Seconded. As much as I standup for causes like this, I'm always weary of shady underhanded 'overheads' after the whole Katrina/Red Cross thing.

[itsmattxp]

Hey all,

Thanks for showing interest right now. I saw Luke's post almost an hour ago but didn't have any answer so I've contacted the president of the SHH chapter at my school about this and so far this is what I know. I asked him exactly what Luke asked and he replied that "All of it. All money donated to SHH goes directly to it. There's no third party or anything in between." I also asked if any of it would be tax deductible and he replied "All donations are tax deductible, however we would need to write them a receipt". However, if you donate to my site, it'll show up on your credit card statement so it should be deductible. BUT please DO NOT donate right now if you're looking for a tax deduction, since the president and I am not completely sure how much % you would get deducted and how that would exactly go about, I only know as much as I've shared. At the moment, I've emailed the headquarters to see exactly what they say, since I don't want anyone here to think that I'm here to steal their money so I should have some concrete information hopefully sometime today.

[Luke]

Hey all,

Thanks for showing interest right now. I saw Luke's post almost an hour ago but didn't have any answer so I've contacted the president of the SHH chapter at my school about this and so far this is what I know. I asked him exactly what Luke asked and he replied that "All of it. All money donated to SHH goes directly to it. There's no third party or anything in between." I also asked if any of it would be tax deductible and he replied "All donations are tax deductible, however we would need to write them a receipt". However, if you donate to my site, it'll show up on your credit card statement so it should be deductible. At the moment, I've emailed the headquarters to see exactly what they say, since I don't want anyone here to think that I'm here to steal their money so I should have some concrete information hopefully sometime today.

I appreciate your quick response. I consider myself a small time philanthropist, so I will need to check all disclaimers on the SHH website before donating, but again I appreciate you looking into this.

If and when I do donate, I will go through the link you provided. Best of luck with your fundraising, and a personal thank you for your support of countries that are less than fortunate. I wish you success on your endeavors, and hope your trip is a success.

[dedalusdedalus]

However, if you donate to my site, it'll show up on your credit card statement so it should be deductible. BUT please DO NOT donate right now if you're looking for a tax deduction, since the president and I am not completely sure how much % you would get deducted and how that would exactly go about

Remember guys, charitable contributions are an itemized deduction so you'll only be able to claim them if you're not going for the standard deduction.

It's a good idea to always do your due diligence before contributing to charity. It's no substitute for having actual numbers, but this really seems like a low overhead operation if $650 covers transportation, lodging, food, security, construction materials for a 1 week stay.

Really generous of Luke to offer $100, by the way. I doubt his contribution will be misused by this organization. I'll bet the numbers will match my assessment of this organization, and that'll be the first $100.

[itsmattxp]

However, if you donate to my site, it'll show up on your credit card statement so it should be deductible. BUT please DO NOT donate right now if you're looking for a tax deduction, since the president and I am not completely sure how much % you would get deducted and how that would exactly go about

Remember guys, charitable contributions are an itemized deduction so you'll only be able to claim them if you're not going for the standard deduction.

It's a good idea to always do your due diligence before contributing to charity. It's no substitute for having actual numbers, but this really seems like a low overhead operation if $650 covers transportation, lodging, food, security, construction materials for a 1 week stay.

Really generous of Luke to offer $100, by the way. I doubt his contribution will be misused by this organization. I'll bet the numbers will match my assessment of this organization, and that'll be the first $100.

As of right now, no one has donated. The $100 you see of the 750 is caused by the fact that tickets bought for the trip two months in advance are $100 dollars off.

Just got word that the first $375 dollars is not tax deductible, however, everything after that is.

[itsmattxp]

BUMP!

[Hazerd]

Shouldnt this be in off-topic, unless this donation is to buy these poor children some retro-gaming gear, its not related to "General Gaming"

[dedalusdedalus]

Shouldnt this be in off-topic, unless this donation is to buy these poor children some retro-gaming gear, its not related to "General Gaming"

Now THAT'S an idea for a charity.

But seriously though, some friendly advice. Given that the 2011 Charity Auction raised like 1K this year, raising 2K entirely through Racketboy contributions might be a bridge too far, if not a total pipe-dream. I'd therefore suggest a few things:

1) Follow up on providing the information that Luke requested. If you do that, you'll likely get your first contribution from Luke, and also possibly from others who want to know about the organization's overhead. It's a start.

2) Contribute a bit of your own cash towards your personal Honduras account. Firstly, it'll make people see that you're personally and financially committed to your own cause. Secondly, people also like to see that their contributions will make a difference, so contributing their own hard-earned money is easier to do when there's only say $200 left to go as opposed to $2000 left to go.

3) Possibly augment your fund-raising with an auction of some of your possessions along with stuff that other people contribute. People love buying stuff, and this opens up the possibility of non-cash contributions.

4) Cross-post this on other forums, so hopefully a little bit here and a little bit there will add up.

Best of luck!