Wacky Blog

‘Tis the Season of Giving

When Nick wanted to give back to other kids going through cancer, we quickly realized there were thousands of reputable charities already established – we didn’t need to reinvent the wheel, but to join forces with an existing charity that mirrored our own vision. We researched which charities we wanted to support. We reviewed public information; i.e. what percentage of donations actually went to research for childhood cancer; which charities had the most direct impact on the quality of life and so on.

We have continued to select CureSearch as the most effective in dedicating research to childhood cancer – 95 cents of every dollar goes directly towards research. After attending the First Descents adventure camp for young adults surviving cancer, Nick personally experienced the enormous impact cancer camps have on cancer survivors.

Since the inception of WACKY – Warriors Against Cancer in Kids & Young-adults in 2008, we have donated over $100,000 to benefit both CureSearch and First Descents through generous donations received by WACKY supporters. We will continue to focus on childhood cancer research and young adult camps for cancer survivors. WACKY (a dba of the Empowered Wealth Foundation, a true 501(3)(c) charity) reserves the right to determine and review annually where donations are to be allocated.

WACKY is just one of many great charities out there. We all have our favorite causes, usually because of a personal connection. What do you know about your favorite charity? Have you done any research lately? Is your charity still in alignment with your vision?

Charity Navigator and Guide Star are excellent charity review websites that can help you find information on most significant charities. CureSearch can be found on both sites; First Descents is registered with Guide Star. The Empowered Wealth Foundation is still pretty small to merit association with either charity review sites; however, we are growing and hope to be affiliated with one soon.

Charity Navigator recently posted a terrific article with guidelines in giving. It is definitely worth the read before making a donation this year – here is the link: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=518.

On a random note, I follow a website called “Help Others” – www.helpothers.org. It is a site where people post stories of random acts of kindness. It is very apparent that many of us are not so much in need of financial assistance, but tenderness, kindness and love, if only with a smile, a kind word, or an anonymous gesture to help. Take a moment, take a breath and look outside your peripheral vision – embrace your innate power to give to others – charity in its purest form. As Lee likes to say, “Be an answer to someone’s prayer today.”

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