STEEM IS GOOD. IF YOU MAKE IT GOOD. MAKE IT GOOD. THIS IS AGORISM.
So I turned into a facebook housewife for a minute and did a black and white challenge thing with some pictures. Sue me.
I typically do not participate in stuff like this, but whatever, I have other ideas in mind. I used that to make posts to harvest SBD in order to play Santa Claus for a minute. I have a trove of photos that I've taken over the years so I thought "Meh, why not? Let's show what Steem can do for people if you want it to do something good for someone." Not only could this be a good example of what Steem is capable of doing if you put your mind to it, but it also provided me with a way to inadvertently hook up a family that I personally love that I know is financially struggling with 4 kids. Shit like this is COOL. It still blows my mind that this is all possible. I love the internet!
ANYWAYS. On to the point of this post. I don't know what to do with the pending SBD (it's looking like about $1000 USD give or take a bit once I convert SBD to BTC to usable vehicles).
I'm not going to disclose who the people are or anything, but I will describe the circumstances. Picture a family, a mom, a dad. Four kids. Two boys, two girls. The kids are just hitting teen years, some pre-teen. They pretty much have no other family or friend support at all. Picture bottom of the barrel American poverty.
What could or should I drop on these folks that could help them grow as people? What would be the best thing to give to them? I want to gift them something that will help their kids' minds grow or to help inspire them. Poverty is a mean mistress and she deals out depression in droves. It's easy to be disheartened and live in a never-ending cycle of "I give up!" I don't want to give them candy or toys, I want to give them something that could inspire them to want to learn, grow, and do better. It's a hard question . . .
If you comment on this, I hope that you've read the entire post. I genuinely want some help with ideas as to what to give these folks, I don't want to drop just anything on them. I want it to count.
Thanks for reading,
Ya boioioi Matt
consider @agoric.systems for witness
Awesome another example of a community working and care for each other. Sending you a small gift
Thank you
Definitely cash.
This may seem reductive initially, but I think there is a growing body of research showing that the best thing you can give the majority of people in need is simply cash. Most people will then use that cash in a way that best meets their needs.
That seems to be the case in discrete situations, like as a result of Hurricane Harvey, but it is also manifested by non-profit efforts like Kiva, which forgoes normal NGO practice and simply gives low interest, small loans to individuals and families. Those loans currently have a 96% pay back rate, and have helped a great many people in ways only those people themselves would have known needed helping.
A number of news outlets have written on this topic in the last few years, including The Atlantic, NPR and BBC - and all seem to indicate that direct cash transfers are a very effective form of charity.
Which is why, definitely cash IMO.
And it makes sense - how can any of us know what a family needs, let alone wants, let alone what would be cherished or life changing. It's possible you could strike gold and make the perfect choice - but more than likely you'd miss the mark, despite earnest consideration, and then they're out a grand they could otherwise have used.
Of course, this opens up the small possibility that they will misuse the money. But, as the articles I posted to generally conclude, that is statistically unlikely to happen apparently.
Aaaaaand I accidentally wrote a post... I think I might just convert this comment into a more complete post now that I've done all the research :).
It's a very generous impulse btw! I commend you!
(Now - one caveat to this advice would be if you know that one or more of the adults in this family have a substance abuse or gambling problem. But that's a super specific loophole to the general rule of thumb that cash is the best choice.)
Thanks for the thorough read and write-up, @dber! Cash is definitely a huge consideration at this point. I don't want to be negative or anything like that, but the possibility of misuse of money is, well, I hate to say it, quite likely. I don't want to go into detail or shame anyone, but well, poverty breeds some pretty shitty circumstances. It just does :-/. Which is why I was focusing more on tangible items for the kids and parents. Thank you so much for the killer reply! You rule.
At the end of the day, even the truest general facts need to be considered beside specialized knowledge - you know these individual people, whereas I can only speak generally - so follow your instincts!
Do you know what kind of hobbies the kids have at all? I would definitely take that into consideration for what you get them. Maybe if one of them is into music you could get them some kind of instrument to help drive them more into that, or if one of them is into painting or drawing you could get them some nice quality supplies to help further that as a passion?
You could also always get them some new clothes or supplies that they couldn't normally afford, though I know you're saying you'd like to get something to try and inspire them. Maybe you just giving a helping hand to make sure they have what they need could inspire them to learn to do the same for others in need in the future though. I know when I was a teenager we were broke as hell and I really started to appreciate whenever I get some new clothes as I was wearing some ratty ass stuff for a long time.
Either way, bro. This is very generous, awesome and just downright great of you to do and I hope you can find some great stuff to gift that family. Keep up the badass work, man!
Good points! Thanks for the input, @deadspace. I don't know the kids like I do the parents, but I'm in tune with their situation. Coming from a similar one myself, I can imagine what life's like and how it can play out.
Hmm, I'm still undecided! I don't wanna tip them off, so I can't really ask about clothes sizes and all that stuff.
The best you could give them is a Laptop + internet and teach them to use steemit, so they can grow reading good information, they can build themselves and their profile and made some cash from the laptop you gave them!!
in others words, you are going to give them the tools to grow a lot more!!
it doesnt even need to be a expensive laptop!!
steemit is the best gift you can give them
I'm from venezuela and steemit saved me from the hunger!! now i'm helping others too
I wish I lived closer to them to pay them visits/help out in that way. I definitely agree with ya and am leaning quite a bit to laptops or a solid home desktop (less likely to be destroyed, stolen, or sold).
Your idea of helping people is very relevant and noble. I can say to this that it is better to give these people the opportunity and good advice as this opportunity to take advantage of, in which case point out their mistakes along the way and support them morally. It may seem strange, but I would not give them all the time and everything ready, since everyone should at least make a part of himself and earn some of that something, so everyone will acquire experience and knowledge. Thank you @matt-a and Happy New Year!
I agree, but I live very far away from them, otherwise I would give them the opportunity to work for me or something so that they can earn something. It's an extremely valuable lesson for sure. Thanks!
Cash I say.
About $1000 and 4 kids? Thats enough to give them each a cheap laptop. Maybe if you have time, you can teach them how to use steemit and they can start posting on here too to get some SBD and Steem of their own. They can learn how to code too if they want which will open up some opportunities for their future.
Good idea. I was trying to think about the future and where "it's all headed," and was thinking laptop-ish stuff too. The thing is, they live about 500 miles away back where I'm from. So this is going to be something showing up on a doorstep kinda thing.
If I was you I would like to spend time with them. Because poor people have great heart maybe spend time with them try to figure out any problem they have :)
And a happy new year matt
Be well
I see them as much as I can, but they're pretty far away unfortunately. :-/
I have a letter from my mother and (later) my father. My mother passed. These letters were written (30cough)years ago and I cherish them. Tennis equipment,computers cars etc. all are gone. But I still have my letters which in their own words and some words missing speak volumes to me. Get a gift and add a letter Matt. Just a thought. Joy
The most important things I have at home is my slow juicer and a Megahomewater distiller. Juicing is really nice and you can pick your own fruits and greens which will cut down on food costs as well as get you more connected with nature. It also gives you a lot of energy as it's very easy for the body to absorb in it's liquid form. I use the Green Star Elite, it is very sturdy, delivers excellent quality juices and can handle all kinds of greens even the wild ones...
This is a killer idea. I wonder if they'd use it, though. If I knew they'd put it to use, I'd definitely send one their way.
That water distiller looks interesting. I'm very particular about the water that I drink, so maybe this is something that I need to look into myself haha. Thanks for the input, @reko!
definitely, we can talk more about it on SteemSpeak as I have quite some experience with different water systems/filters.