Charitable Considerations: 4 Ways and Lots of Good Causes

Whether you are looking for good karma, to help your fellow man, or whatever your motivation may be, here are four ways and lots of good charitable causes to consider:

– One great way to make tax-deductible charitable donations (CharityNavigator.org)
– Three worthy individuals in need of direct help (David, Rhonda, and Peggy)
– 10 good causes you can help for free, for 1-2 min. of your time (GreaterGood.com)
– A fun, free way to learn and feed the hungry at the same time (FreeRice.com)

If you're looking to make a tax-deductible donation before this year officially ends, or in the future, CharityNavigator.org is a great way to vet the many different options and make a more informed decision.

If you want to help worthy individuals with disabilities who I know are legit, I list these three in order of urgency:

David Jayne was diagnosed with ALS about 30 years ago. He is a very smart, very accomplished man who has had quite a journey, and he is raising money on Kickstarter.com to help get his autobiography written. At the time of this writing, he already has pledges for more than $23,000 in a short timeframe – but the kicker is that he needs the project funded completely ($30,000) by late evening, January 7, 2015 or he GETS NOTHING, and will likely end up in some type of facility without the ability to finish what I believe could be a book that could cover many of his future expenses (and would be worth reading). There's a good video and more info here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/625225387/the-unexpected-journey

Rhonda Reese is a personal friend who became a quadriplegic in 1991, and I met shortly after my injury in 1997. For more than 20 years, her mom, Jackie, was her primary caregiver in a small apartment they shared, but two years ago, Rhonda lost both her parents and is now trying to avoid going to a nursing home at the age of 48. We had a successful bowl-a-thon fundraiser for her last year, and we are planning to make it an annual event to help keep her out of a nursing home (we are currently trying to decide on the location and date of the next bowl-a-thon, but it should be in March 2015). If you want to help Rhonda, you could wait for the bowl-a-thon, or you could donate on her YouCaring.com page, which has more info here:
http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/help-for-rhonda/37633

Peggy Overbey is also a personal friend, and she was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (a form of muscular dystrophy) nearly 3 decades ago. She has lost many physical abilities in that timeframe, and would love to regain some of them with a fancy robotic arm. She knows the price tag is high, and she started a loom knitting business to try to raise funds, yet could still use help. Here is her link for more information and/or to donate:
http://www.gofundme.com/ecjw04

And anyone with Internet access can help 10 good causes for just 1-2 minutes of your time. To make a really significant impact you can visit GreaterGood.com daily, and click to make a sponsor paid donation on 10 different subpages. The Greater Good family of websites has tabs/links to:

TheVeteransSite.com – help provide meals for homeless Veterans with your daily click.

TheAutismSite.com – help fund therapy for children with autism with your daily click.

TheHungerSite.com – help fight hunger with your daily click.

TheBreastCancerSite.com – click daily to help fund free mammograms.

TheDiabetesSite.com – click daily to support the fight against diabetes.

TheLiteracySite.com – click daily to help give free books for children in need.

TheAnimalRescueSite.com – click daily to help give bowls of food for rescued animals.

TheRainforestSite.com – help protect and preserve habitat with your click.

TheAlzheimersSite.com – help support the fight against Alzheimer's with your click.

The above nine links will take you to separate tabs on the GreaterGood.com website. The Greater Good tab/link on the page has a special project to fund with your click. That's 10 different causes you can help in less than one minute (if you're fast:) daily.

FreeRice.com – A fantastic way to have some FUN, LEARN, and FEED THE HUNGRY! The default "game" is multiple choice English vocabulary words, but they also have many other grade school subjects, and you can even choose the level of difficulty in certain categories. And for each correct answer, sponsors will donate 10 grains of rice to the World Food Programme.

Thank you for your consideration in helping any of these or other good causes.

May God bless us all! On a related note, if you're interested in reading the Bible or listening to audio versions, BibleGateway.com has free reading plans (some of which start January 1 and are spread out over the year) which make reading it convenient.
  
Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 255 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net

New Wheelchair Bowling Record for Females with MD

Peggy Overbey's 179 Is the New Wheelchair Bowling Record for Females who have Muscular Dystrophy

My friend & fellow Central Florida Quad Squad Bowler Peggy Overbey set a new wheelchair bowling record for females with Muscular Dystrophy, bowling a 179 last Saturday.  For her scoresheet, click HERE!

We had four IKAN Users -- two girls and two guys -- at the Quad Squad outing, and Peggy & Lilian decided they wanted it to be girls vs. guys (them vs. Aaron and me). Let's just say it was the girls' day.

Shortly after Peggy's 179, Lilian posted a 185, and since we generally use each person's top score of the afternoon for comparison, Aaron and I were in trouble. In Aaron's defense, it was just his second Quad Squad outing bowling IKAN-style. But I had difficulty putting together a particularly good game too. No worries. Congratulations to the ladies -- they bowled very well!

The unusual thing about Peggy's record game, is that she had a very impressive six strikes (including a turkey to start her game and a double later) but no spares. That's unusual because Peggy is typically very good at picking up spares, especially when she's got her "A game." That goes to show the power of consecutive strikes -- they help you accumulate points quickly.

For Peggy's previous best, click HERE.

Keep up the good work Peggy!

Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 223 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net

Quad Squad Bowling Photos 2011-07-10

We had five IKAN Users, myself included, at Quad Squad Bowling on July 10th.  Youth Group members from First Baptist Church of Umatilla caddied for us.

You can view the photos on Facebook HERE (a Facebook account is not required).

For details about Quad Squad Bowling and photos from an earlier outing, click HERE.

Thank you to everyone who helped make it fun & memorable -- and God bless!

Bill Miller :-)

C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 223 High Bowling Game

Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT

My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com

Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com

Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net

Disability Doesn't Stop This Valedictorian

I'm inspired by, humbled, and honored to know Audrey Winkelsas.  We met when she became an IKAN User -- and she recently graduated from high school as her class VALEDICTORIAN -- despite the additional challenges of having Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and using a power wheelchair since the age of two.  Audrey also bowled on her high school team, using the IKAN Bowler that belonged to our late Quad Squad buddy Alex McDonald (click HERE for my 2009 year in review which mentions some of Alex's achievements and his unexpected passing).

After Alex's sudden passing, his parents wanted to find another high school student with Muscular Dystrophy (SMA is a form of MD) to whom they could donate Alex's Bowler, and Audrey was a gracious recipient.  In the below article, Audrey & her family wanted Alex & his family mentioned, but the reporter didn't, so I'm mentioning it now.  Nonetheless, it's a great article, and was originally posted HERE.

If that link expires, you can download a PDF version HERE.

Despite living relatively far away, Audrey has joined us for Quad Squad Bowling multiple times, and as you can read at the above links, she's a phenomenal young woman.

And her story of achievement despite disability needs to be shared.

CONGRATULATIONS AUDREY! :-)

Bill Miller :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 223 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net

First-Time IKAN User Sets Female MD Record

Peggy Overbey, a 44-year-young woman who was born with a type of Muscular Dystrophy called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, bowled remarkably well for a first-time IKAN User, and in doing so, set the initial pace for female bowlers with MD.

Peggy is our newest Central Florida Quad Squad member, and when she told me she was finally going to be able to bowl with us, I tried to give her realistic expectations for her first IKAN experience.  I mentioned that any score approaching 100 in her first three games would be a solid start, and breaking 100 in any of her first three games would be an excellent start.

A typical first game involves trying to get familiar with how the ball will break when setup in certain positions and the overall process of bowling dynamically.  That doesn't usually result in very good scores, and Peggy's 77 was pretty typical.  Her next game was not.

Not only did Peggy break 100 in just her second game, she had FIVE marks and bowled a 129!  And to prove it wasn't a fluke or beginner's luck, she topped it with a 135 in her third game!  But she wasn't done.

She kept demonstrating a solid feel for bowling and added a 125 and 134 in games four and five.  Even including the 77, Peggy averaged 120 for her first five games -- that's impressive!

Five games is quite a bit of bowling, but Peggy was having so much fun, she wanted to bowl a sixth game, and she did.  But I think she got tired and lost a bit of focus, and consequently scored a 75.  Nonetheless, it was an amazing first IKAN experience, and Peggy's 135 is the initial record for female bowlers with MD.

I was most impressed that her approach and ball placement were so solid; she knew where the ball needed to go for the particular shot, and she executed shots quite well.  Even when she missed, it wasn't by much.  So that 135 probably won't stand very long.  But it's a GREAT start!

CONGRATULATIONS PEGGY and keep up the good work!  :-)

Oh, and for any other females with MD who may read this, I'm certain Peggy would encourage and welcome the competition.  Any wheelchair user can bowl with an IKAN Bowler.

Peggy's scoresheet is HERE.

And no worries -- I'll gladly update the female with MD record whenever it's broken!

Bill Miller  :-)
C1-2 Quadriplegic with a 221 High Bowling Game
Co-founder of Manufacturing Genuine Thrills Inc. d/b/a MGT
My blog: http://powerwheelchairusers.blogspot.com
Business website: http://www.ikanbowler.com
Personal website: http://www.lookmomnohands.net