Humanitarian Organizations Need Help Year Round

(ARA) - Disasters often shock us from our daily routine and give us pause to sympathize with survivors in a part of the world usually far from our consciousness. We simply can't ignore the suddenness and tragedy of an event like the Indian Ocean Tsunami or Hurricane Katrina. Indeed, every time we look at the television screen or pick up a newspaper, we see the bad news -- and a part of us grieves with families who have lost so much.

But when the headlines fade, does the plight of those families also fade from our thoughts?

Emergency response -- speeding relief to families in urgent need after a disaster -- is just one part of the work that humanitarian organizations do around the world. Every day, thousands of caring, committed field workers are in some of the world's remote and challenging areas helping children and families who are struggling with hunger, lack of opportunity and poor health conditions.

Mercy Corps, based in Portland, Ore., is one of those organizations. Its 2,000 staff members operate innovative programs in more than 40 countries -- from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. At any hour on any given day, the organization's field workers are busy helping courageous, hard-working people emerge from dire poverty, deplorable living conditions and oppressive societies.

In 2005, Mercy Corps helped more than 10 million people around the world. Schools were opened, gardens planted, houses rebuilt and lives saved.

That kind of ongoing work -- and readiness for the next emergency -- requires tremendous commitment and resources. Organizations like Mercy Corps depend greatly on the awareness and generosity of their supporters.

In order to meet the ongoing needs of families around the world, Mercy Corps has launched three groundbreaking monthly giving programs: Give for Kids, Heroes Against Hunger and Partners in Mercy. These programs present caring individuals with an everyday way to support the programs that interest and move them.

These programs not only offer a specific cause to support, but also allow donors to control the level of their donation at all times. In addition, monthly giving donors receive exclusive, in-depth stories about the Mercy Corps programs they're giving to.

The various levels of giving fund specific activities such as:

* $10 a month provides nutritious school lunches for 40 students for a week

* $31 a month supplies 15 children with a sustainable source of clean drinking water

* $60 a month repairs classrooms and restrooms for 45 elementary school students.

Just as its workers are committed to families every day, Mercy Corps offers a way for caring individuals to make an everyday difference for children and families in need.

Monthly giving programs show mothers in Niger how to provide healthier food for their malnourished children. They help spare families around the world from the devastation of AIDS by funding HIV/AIDS awareness programs. They provide loans to small businesses in order to transform local economies and provide a brighter future for poverty-stricken communities.

People in need aren't helpless; they are survivors, strong and capable of changing their world. All they need from us is a hand up to a better tomorrow.

Monthly giving offers the unique option to change the world. For more information, go to mercycorps.org.

Courtesy of ARA Content