{"id":438,"date":"2008-08-13T04:36:07","date_gmt":"2008-08-13T09:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/?p=438"},"modified":"2008-08-12T21:45:11","modified_gmt":"2008-08-13T02:45:11","slug":"money-well-spent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/money-well-spent\/","title":{"rendered":"Money Well Spent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Where does the money go? Is it really a smart investment? How much impact does my donation really have?<\/p>\n

Those are all really good questions to ask before making a donation to any organization.\u00a0 You want to know that your hard-earned money is actually making a difference, not lining the pockets of some individual. You can rest assured that I have done my homework and feel that World Vision<\/a> is a wise investment.\u00a0 Trust me, I wouldn’t waste my money or time supporting an organzation that I didn’t believe was making the biggest difference with the least amount of money.\u00a0 Some might say that I’m a tightwad – so if I’m going to donate I expect something positive to happen with it.<\/p>\n

In my original post<\/a> about Team World Vision I talked a little bit about their mission and why we personally support the organization.\u00a0 You may recall that one of my professors in Grad School had lots of good things to say about the organization and their work, even though he is a Muslim.<\/p>\n

What Am I Buying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our capitalistic nature many of us want to “purchase” something with our money.\u00a0 Almost all humanitarian aid organizations now offer catalogs where you can “buy” something for a family overseas.\u00a0 World Vision is no different and has quite an extensive catalog <\/a>available.\u00a0 For $75 you can purchase a goat that will help provide a family with needed milk and maybe even a revenue source. World Vision works hard to meet the immediate and urgent needs of families while also providing a long term solution to their problems.<\/p>\n

A gift of $40 provides a fishing kit, which gives them a fishing pole, fishing net, and the tackle and training needed to catch fish.\u00a0 The fish can be eaten or sold at market.\u00a0 A small gift of $40 can provide a life-sustaining income stream for a starving family. Money well spent.<\/em><\/p>\n

If we reach the goal of raising $2,000 we could fund an entire farmyard of animals<\/a> for a group of families, which includes “two sheep, two cows, two goats, two pigs, and 20 chickens.” There are many different ways to split up the $2,000. The official Team World Vision website <\/a>describes where all funds raised are actually directed:<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Funds raised by Team World Vision athletes will support children and families in need around the world.<\/p>\n

World Vision works with communities to help provide them with the things they need to become self-sustaining. That includes things like clean water, nutritious food, education, medical care, and economic opportunity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Financial Accountability<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At right you can see a chart from World Vision’s recent financial data. 86% of their resources are dedicated to changing the lives of men, women, and children around the world.\u00a0 That is higher than the industry standard and is quite impressive for an organization of its size.<\/p>\n

Team World Vision<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team World Vision is a fund raising arm of the organization which uses ordinary people like me, to get ordinary people like you involved in ending poverty and injustice across the world. I have decided to commit the 26.2 miles of my first marathon to the memory of and in honor of the children I have met during my international travels. I can\u2019t remember all of their names, but I have many pictures and stories.<\/p>\n

On the right side of my blog there is a widget that will allow you to support me during this race or you can visit this secure page<\/a>. I have set a goal of raising $2,000 which will help children have a chance at living to become adults across Africa.<\/p>\n

[tags]\u00a0 World Vision, Team World Vision, Africa [\/tags]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"Reblog<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where does the money go? Is it really a smart investment? How much impact does my donation really have? Those are all really good questions to ask before making a donation to any organization.\u00a0 You want to know that your hard-earned money is actually making a difference, not lining the pockets of some individual. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[28,14,58],"tags":[142,144,145,143,701],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-charity","category-marathon","category-world-vision","tag-donation","tag-drinking-water","tag-health-care","tag-humanitarian-aid","tag-world-vision"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4iaAv-74","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2049,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2010\/running-for-clean-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":0},"title":"Running for Clean Water","author":"crossn81","date":"July 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Image by crossn81 via Flickr I've decided to join with Team World Vision again, to help change lives in Africa. I am running the Ragnar Relay from Winona, MN to Minneapolis. I along with 11 others will complete the 193 mile journey along the Mississippi River. This is very appropriate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"World Vision Volunteer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm5.static.flickr.com\/4009\/4516312733_e55b6d14fa_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/saving-schools-a-vital-asset\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":1},"title":"Saving Schools: A Vital Asset","author":"crossn81","date":"July 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I think most of us would agree that a basic education is vital to a person's individual success as well as the success of the greater community and even a nation.\u00a0 We might start going different directions when we discuss what actually makes up a basic education - some might\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/images\/saschool.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":336,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/mixing-passion-with-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":2},"title":"Mixing Passion With Change","author":"crossn81","date":"August 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Below is a letter I sent to family and friends about my plans to run a marathon and raise money for Team World Vision: There is nothing more important than having a passion that drives you. You probably know that two of my passions are running and Africa (if you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstgiving.com\/Design\/1589\/images\/twvc_bnr.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":573,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/the-world-vision-experience\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":3},"title":"The World Vision Experience","author":"crossn81","date":"September 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my best friends from high school has the amazing job of touring the country working for World Vision.\u00a0 He started out traveling with musicians who promote World Vision during their concerts.\u00a0 His role was to setup the table and help interested people sign up to be child sponsors\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.worldvision.org\/worldvision\/master.nsf\/AIDS_Experience_banner_160x200.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":523,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2008\/hurricane-relief-world-vision-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":4},"title":"Hurricane Relief: World Vision Style","author":"crossn81","date":"September 3, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"So far I have written almost exclusively about World Vision's work overseas.\u00a0 Yet, they do a lot of work in the US as well.\u00a0 It isn't necessarily what they are known for but they do provide support to families living in poverty in certain parts of the country.\u00a0 And when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstgiving.com\/Design\/1589\/images\/twvc_bnr.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2280,"url":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2010\/support-water-projects\/","url_meta":{"origin":438,"position":5},"title":"Support Water Projects","author":"crossn81","date":"August 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Image via Wikipedia I've been busy and haven't done a very good job of promoting my fundraising efforts for Water Projects in Kenya. \u00a0Nevertheless, families need clean access to water throughout the world. \u00a0Can you imagine not having clean water? You couldn't wash your dishes, laundry, or even get a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Charity"","block_context":{"text":"Charity","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/category\/charity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"No drinking water, prohibition sign D-P005 acc...","src":"http:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/4\/42\/D-P005_Kein_Trinkwasser.svg\/300px-D-P005_Kein_Trinkwasser.svg.png","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438\/revisions\/472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}