Christopher S. Penn – Marketing AI Keynote Speaker

Happy Valentine's Day!

—

by

Christopher S Penn
in ,
Warning: this content is older than 365 days. It may be out of date and no longer relevant.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t rank highly on my list of important days. As CC Chapman said, if you need a holiday to show someone you love that you care, you have serious issues you need to address in your relationship.

Happy Valentine's Day! 1Combine that with crass commercialism and an attempt to raid your wallet through your heart by major corporations (check the stocks of 1-800-FLOWERS today – ticker: FLWS, FTD ticker: FTD, Red Envelope ticker: REDE) and you have a day I’m not wildly thrilled about.

So let’s rearrange the day of showing love a bit.

Figure out what you’d spend on an average Valentine’s Day among flowers, gifts, dinner, cards, and the other corporate subsidies pop culture asks you to buy. Total all that up, and then make a contribution to your significant other’s favorite charity instead, in their name. If you’re going to spend money today, spend it on something that will show true love – a contribution to an organization that will serve the greater good.

There’s no shortage of charities to choose from, and tons of good causes. Check out Charity Navigator to find efficiency ratings of various charities, to see how your money is used and what percentage of each dollar goes to actually help the people or causes you donated to help. Every non-profit charity with 501(c)(3) status is also required to disclose its IRS 990, so you can inspect for yourself how they use their money.

Make Valentine’s Day about love – love not only for your significant other, but about love for your world, your community, and the greater good. As my teacher Stephen K. Hayes says, there is no greater way to serve yourself and make yourself happier than to help others.

Got a charity you want to promote? Post a link to it in the comments! 

Photo credit: Sister72

Comments

21 responses to “Happy Valentine's Day!”

  1. Susan Reynolds Avatar
    Susan Reynolds

    One of the newest charitable funds many of you have never heard about is the Frozen Pea Fund. http://frozenpeafund.com

    Set up over a few days in Late December 2007 with the help of the American Cancer Society, it came into being after my friend Connie Reece learned that I not only had invasive breast cancer and had used frozen peas as an ice pack during my biopsy, but my mastectomy was scheduled the same week that I saw the surgeon.

    This cancer was scary and it was fast. So that’s how Connie worked to set up the fund, with a widget provided by the ACS that whisks the online donation into their account without us needing to waste moments on counting dollars when we could be talking about cancer and spreading the word.

    This week we received our first corporate donor when ooVoo selected the Frozen Pea Fund to benefit from “my ooVoo day with . .” based on the community focus of our effort. Lest you be misled though, our average contribution is very small time something like $30 average, in keeping with our grassroots beginning where participants were asked to donate five dollars each Friday, this number representing about the cost of two packs of frozen peas.

    If you’re thinking of doing something simple that would make a huge difference I can guarantee that your gift through us will keep us encouraged to make the http://frozenpeafund.com the new kind of community sharing project that it can be,

    A click to donate button is on the page to make it painless to reach out and share. Please know how much we appreciate your considering us.

    Reply
  2. Whitney Hoffman Avatar
    Whitney Hoffman

    Thanks for this post, Chris! I am raising money for a school for autistic children in China-

    http://ldpodcast.chipin.com/ma-chen-autism-school-in-china

    Thanks for the opportunity to post this here, and I hope people will consider giving. At the end of the month, we’ll make our first wire to Ma Chen, and we’ll close out the whole campaign in 60 days. Any and all money goes directly to Ma Chen- I pay all transfer fees and costs!

    Whitney

    Reply
  3. Geoff Manning Avatar
    Geoff Manning

    Great thought Chris, now if you could explain this to my wife 😉

    Here is a charity that my wife and I contribute to. It is the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton. They do not accept donations through their website (I am working with them to fix that).

    Here is the link to the main site:
    http://www.bgcbrockton.org/

    And a link to the page with the donation info:
    http://www.bgcbrockton.org/main.asp?id=3

    Reply
  4. Whitney Hoffman Avatar
    Whitney Hoffman

    Thanks for this post, Chris! I am raising money for a school for autistic children in China-

    http://ldpodcast.chipin.com/ma-chen-autism-school-in-china

    Thanks for the opportunity to post this here, and I hope people will consider giving. At the end of the month, we’ll make our first wire to Ma Chen, and we’ll close out the whole campaign in 60 days. Any and all money goes directly to Ma Chen- I pay all transfer fees and costs!

    Whitney

    Reply
  5. Doug Haslam Avatar
    Doug Haslam

    What a great idea Chris!
    I am starting to raise money for the Jimmy Fund as I prepare to ride the Pan Mass Challenge this fall. You can pledge to me here:
    http://www.pmc.org/egifts/giftinfo.asp?EgiftID=DH0159

    Or “Chipin” at DougHaslam.com

    Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Doug Haslam Avatar
    Doug Haslam

    What a great idea Chris!
    I am starting to raise money for the Jimmy Fund as I prepare to ride the Pan Mass Challenge this fall. You can pledge to me here:
    http://www.pmc.org/egifts/giftinfo.asp?EgiftID=DH0159

    Or “Chipin” at DougHaslam.com

    Thanks!

    Reply
  7. Ann Handley Avatar
    Ann Handley

    I dunno — I kinda like Valentine’s Day. Not because I have trouble remembering to show love the rest of the year and not because I expect overpriced roses.. because I don’t… but because it’s a nice opp to be a little more mindful and act a little silly. Plus, kids dig it… and I’m a soft touch for my kids. It’s not about the money — it’s about attitude.

    That said, I do like the idea of spreading the love to our communities and to the greater good, especially to the organizations we care about. But I see that sort of thing as in addition to.. not instead of. I mean, if I don’t have a cheesy heart card for my little girl, well… it won’t be pretty. (lol…)

    Reply
  8. Ann Handley Avatar
    Ann Handley

    I dunno — I kinda like Valentine’s Day. Not because I have trouble remembering to show love the rest of the year and not because I expect overpriced roses.. because I don’t… but because it’s a nice opp to be a little more mindful and act a little silly. Plus, kids dig it… and I’m a soft touch for my kids. It’s not about the money — it’s about attitude.

    That said, I do like the idea of spreading the love to our communities and to the greater good, especially to the organizations we care about. But I see that sort of thing as in addition to.. not instead of. I mean, if I don’t have a cheesy heart card for my little girl, well… it won’t be pretty. (lol…)

    Reply
  9. John Wall Avatar
    John Wall

    Yes, a letter or a card can go just as far (or even much farther) than some flowers that were 50 less last week and will be50 less next week…

    My favorite Boston charity is the Franciscan Hospital for Children, the accept donations on their site:
    http://www.franciscanhospital.org

    Reply
  10. John Wall Avatar
    John Wall

    Yes, a letter or a card can go just as far (or even much farther) than some flowers that were 50 less last week and will be50 less next week…

    My favorite Boston charity is the Franciscan Hospital for Children, the accept donations on their site:
    http://www.franciscanhospital.org

    Reply
  11. Sarah Vela Avatar
    Sarah Vela

    Another wonderful thing to do for Valentine’s Day is to donate blood — doesn’t cost you a penny, comes straight from the heart. You and your sweetie can go together!

    Charities I love:
    Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org
    Doctors Without Borders http://www.msf.org
    Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org
    Partners In Health http://www.pih.org
    Heifer International http://www.heifer.org

    Reply
  12. Sarah Vela Avatar
    Sarah Vela

    Another wonderful thing to do for Valentine’s Day is to donate blood — doesn’t cost you a penny, comes straight from the heart. You and your sweetie can go together!

    Charities I love:
    Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org
    Doctors Without Borders http://www.msf.org
    Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org
    Partners In Health http://www.pih.org
    Heifer International http://www.heifer.org

    Reply
  13. Beth Kanter Avatar
    Beth Kanter

    Here’s mine: http://www.sharingfoundation.org

    But I did a round up of charities doing special V-Day’s campaigns – there’s many ways to say I Love You with a gift to charity
    http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/02/the-many-ways-t.html

    You’ve got to love the mating ring tones that support environmental groups.

    Reply
  14. Beth Kanter Avatar
    Beth Kanter

    Here’s mine: http://www.sharingfoundation.org

    But I did a round up of charities doing special V-Day’s campaigns – there’s many ways to say I Love You with a gift to charity
    http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/02/the-many-ways-t.html

    You’ve got to love the mating ring tones that support environmental groups.

    Reply
  15. susanreynolds Avatar
    susanreynolds

    One of the newest charitable funds many of you have never heard about is the Frozen Pea Fund. http://frozenpeafund.com

    Set up over a few days in Late December 2007 with the help of the American Cancer Society, it came into being after my friend Connie Reece learned that I not only had invasive breast cancer and had used frozen peas as an ice pack during my biopsy, but my mastectomy was scheduled the same week that I saw the surgeon.

    This cancer was scary and it was fast. So that’s how Connie worked to set up the fund, with a widget provided by the ACS that whisks the online donation into their account without us needing to waste moments on counting dollars when we could be talking about cancer and spreading the word.

    This week we received our first corporate donor when ooVoo selected the Frozen Pea Fund to benefit from “my ooVoo day with . .” based on the community focus of our effort. Lest you be misled though, our average contribution is very small time something like $30 average, in keeping with our grassroots beginning where participants were asked to donate five dollars each Friday, this number representing about the cost of two packs of frozen peas.

    If you’re thinking of doing something simple that would make a huge difference I can guarantee that your gift through us will keep us encouraged to make the http://frozenpeafund.com the new kind of community sharing project that it can be,

    A click to donate button is on the page to make it painless to reach out and share. Please know how much we appreciate your considering us.

    Reply
  16. Geoff Manning Avatar
    Geoff Manning

    Great thought Chris, now if you could explain this to my wife 😉

    Here is a charity that my wife and I contribute to. It is the Boys and Girls Club of Brockton. They do not accept donations through their website (I am working with them to fix that).

    Here is the link to the main site:
    http://www.bgcbrockton.org/

    And a link to the page with the donation info:
    http://www.bgcbrockton.org/main.asp?id=3

    Reply
  17. Sean Avatar
    Sean

    Good post, Chris.

    John, I also donate to the Fransiscan Children Hostipital. Never checked out their website though.

    Reply
  18. Sean Avatar
    Sean

    Good post, Chris.

    John, I also donate to the Fransiscan Children Hostipital. Never checked out their website though.

    Reply
  19. Ben G Avatar
    Ben G

    Cool ideas!

    I love the concept of subverting the consumeristic tendancies of our culture and instead donating to mission driven organizations…excellent!

    This is an extremely worthy local organization providing support and wellness programs for people with cancer, their caregivers and health care professionals:

    http://www.centerforcancer.org

    Reply
  20. Ben G Avatar
    Ben G

    Cool ideas!

    I love the concept of subverting the consumeristic tendancies of our culture and instead donating to mission driven organizations…excellent!

    This is an extremely worthy local organization providing support and wellness programs for people with cancer, their caregivers and health care professionals:

    http://www.centerforcancer.org

    Reply
  21. Ben G Avatar
    Ben G

    Cool ideas!

    I love the concept of subverting the consumeristic tendancies of our culture and instead donating to mission driven organizations…excellent!

    This is an extremely worthy local organization providing support and wellness programs for people with cancer, their caregivers and health care professionals:

    http://www.centerforcancer.org

    Reply

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