With the time here once again for the Give!Local program, which runs Nov. 1-Dec. 31, I would like to call out to everyone how important this program is for the western mountain area.
I have always donated to charities that were close to my heart, and they were all national programs. Then I started to research where all the funding went, and I was shocked to see that a lot of big, national programs had a lot of money going to advertising and bureaucracy, an extraordinary amount going to pay the president’s or chairman’s salaries! Four hundred thousand dollars to a certain one that I was giving to and many others well over $100,000.
Then after moving to AVL several years ago, I decided to look into the local charities and found that all of the monies raised go to actually helping the subject of the charity. So I ask you all now to give generously to whatever local charity that piques your interests, be it wild animals, humanitarian reform, the environment or our beloved pets.
I myself am also a volunteer with the Wild for Life Raptor Rehabilitation Center, which deals with rehabbing injured or orphaned hawks, owls, vultures and even some songbirds. These organizations also need, besides monetary help, volunteering help. Check out wildforlife.org for more information. And let’s donate to Give!Local and keep our funds in our region.
— Bern Sroka
Asheville
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.