Welcome to Philanthropic Phridays

I'm sure this business of quarantine, social isolation and social distancing has us all feeling a little helpless, regardless of what our own personal situation or health status may be. So here is my own small effort to make a difference. Today and every Friday for The Duration, I'll be donating to a charity or other worthy cause that is helping to make easier and/or more pleasant the lives of those who have been impacted by coronavirus. Isn't that pretty much everyone?

So without further ado, I'll reveal the name of my first recipient organization: Helpage Canada. You can find out a little more about them here:

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/helpage-canada/campaign/covid-19-emergency-appeal/

I'm now eager to hear any suggestions for future recipients. We know that food banks, United Way & Healthpartners, the Distress Centre, the Red Cross and Canadian Blood Services are well-known to be actively soliciting donations, so I am particularly interested in hearing about smaller, more obscure groups which may not have had much (or any) media coverage. I also have a bias towards those which are active in the Ottawa/Gatineau area. And I want to emphasize that the group in question need not be a registered charity or even a charity in the conventional sense. I hope to reach out to a few arts and cultural groups: starving artists, musicians and other dramatis personae, as well as perhaps the techies and (physical) delivery people who enable their work to reach a wider audience. It's all based on the premise that no one can help everyone, but we all can help someone. Call it microphilanthropy if you will.

Let the microphilanthropy begin!