Posts Tagged ‘charity’

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s ‘Toys for Tots’ Program

Monday, June 6th, 2011

The U. S. Marine Corps Reserve has a sixty odd year old scheme to collect toys for tots from needy families both in the United States and in other countries. The aim is to save new unwrapped toys during October, November and December every year and then hand those toys out as Christmas presents to deprived children in the community in which the campaign is being conducted.

Their objective is to bring a message of hope to disadvantaged children in order to encourage them to become ‘responsible, productive, patriotic citizens’ in the words of their web site.

One of the main aims of Toys for Tots is to unite the communities where U.S Marine Reserve units are stationed for the three months of October, November and December each year in the gathering and distribution of new toys to children from less well-off families in order to help them experience the joys of Christmas.

One of the aspirations is that the recollection of receiving these gifts every year will encourage the kids to appreciate the communities where they live and take an active part in those communities when they become older.

Communities where there is no unit of U.S. marine Corps Reserves can also take part in the scheme but they must first register for authorization. These non-Marine groups will mostly, but not always, be ex-Marines.

These groups organize fund-raising events throughout the year in order to finance the purchase of new toys as donations of new toys do not always meet the groups’ needs. These fund-raising events could include sports days, golfing tournaments, bicycle races, swimming tournaments et cetera.

Toys for Tots started in 1947 when Major Bill Hendricks, USCR and a group of Marine Reservists in Los Angeles collected and handed out 5,000 toys for deprived children in the local region.

The original idea sprang from Major Hendrick’s wife, Diane, who had made a doll for a disadvantaged child. She gave it to her husband to give to a fitting charity. When he could not find one, she recommended that he start one himself, so he did just that.

The following year Marine Corps Reserve units across the country adopted the plan and it has been actively providing toys to disadvantaged tots ever since. Walt Disney got involved from the very beginning by designing the logo that the Marine Reserve charity still makes use of today.

Other celebrities to become involved in the early days were Nat ‘King’ Cole, Peggy Lee and Vic Damone, who recorded the Toys for Tots theme, which was written specially for the charity by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster.

Numerous celebrities have been played a part during the years. Celebrities like Bob Hope, John Wayne, Doris Day, Lorrie Morgan, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers and Billy Ray Cyrus. First Lady Nancy Reagan served as the national Spokesperson in 1983 and First Lady Barbara Bush acted as the national Spokesperson in 1992. She wrote in her autobiography tenderly of her involvement with Toys for Tots and called it one of her favourite charities.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety subjects, but is now involved with Silver Cross Rocking Horses. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at Rocking Horses for sale.

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Charity Shops And Clear Outs

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

One way of dividing up people that crosses the barriers of age, sex, religion and ethnicity is whether you are a hoarder or not. There are a great deal of hoarders, although some hoarders refer to themselves as collectors or only nostalgic.

That last sentence might be a tad unfair. Collecting can be explained away as a hobby and nostalgia can be thought of as a yearning for days when we were in better shape.

However, what it all comes down to for billions of households is the accumulation of old junk and old clothing. My mother and her mother had decades of garments that they were certain would come back into fashion one day.

They were almost certainly right and it almost certainly did, but they had to keep the stuff for twenty or thirty years and then teenagers were wearing it, not middle-aged mothers and grandmothers.

My point is that we ought to clear out our closets and wardrobes more frequently in order to create space and pass things on to people who can use them now rather than in twenty years time. I think that closets should be gone through once or twice a year.

Apart from seasonal stuff, if you have not worn something for months, there must be a good reason. Either you do not like it any more; you have gained weight or it does not suit you. So why not pass it on? Write it off and let someone else benefit from it before the moths do.

You could donate them to the Salvation Army, Shelter or any other charity shop or wait for your local church, school or scout brigade to hold a fund-raising bazaar or bring-and-buy sale.

This clears out room for you so that you can see the wood for the trees, permits a charity to profit from your surplus and allows someone more disadvantaged than you to wear good quality clothing at less than the retail cost.

If you have let things drift a little, not to worry. There are charity shops that have racks specializing in old-fashioned gear. They call it retro and there are loads of people who enjoy wearing it.

There are also theatre and film companies scouring the secondhand clothes stores looking for period clothing. One of your old suits could feature in the next Fifties remake!

However, passing your old, decent quality clothing on to charity stores or specialist retro shops, whether you donate or sell them, is merely one side of the coin. You can also purchase from these stores.

If you have not been in a charity shop for years or think that you would not be seen dead in one, then you should go along and have a look. They are no longer the sad, amateurish places that they once were. They are run professionally and have a decent turnover of stock. They are a particularly decent source of warm winter clothing such as overcoats, so why not do everyone a favour and go and have a look sometime soon?

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with the jean jacket. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Mens Overcoats For Sale.

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Donate A Car

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

If you are thinking of helping a charity, one way for you to do so is to go through a donate a car charity. This means that you will be able to help people with your old car. However, it may be very beneficial for you to know the following steps in order to carry out the process of donating the car smoothly.

First of all, you have to find the appropriate charitable institutions where you can donate a car. This is very important especially if the charitable institution that you usually support may not be that equipped to get the car that you will give to them. Searching for the appropriate charitable institutions to donate a car is very easy by searching the internet. Compare on different websites so you will find the right institution to support.

Second, you may want to know the exact monetary value that will be given to the charity itself. This is also very beneficial for people who want to take advantage of a tax deduction. This is because there is a certain amount that can be considered as the charitable contribution that is eligible for deduction that will be usable within the year.

Next, better not to get assistance from any middlemen like intermediary groups. These are the ones who have been extensively asked people to give their donations through media. The reason for this is that they usually keep a lot in finances for themselves instead providing it to the institution. The money that they may keep may even reach up to 90% of the donation.

If you would really desire to achieve a tax deduction for your donate a car goal, then you must check out the current status of the organization. It should not be any regular institution for the one you will choose should be approved by the IRS for you to get the deduction.

If you do not want to spend a lot of money, you may want to delivery the vehicle by yourself. Aside from just saving money, it will also maximize the charity work that you will do since you will give it personally instead of using a car transport service.

Lastly, it is very vital for you to transfer the vehicle’s ownership properly. This will prevent you from getting ticket violations under your name. Make sure that the charitable institution’s name will be indicated on the owner title of the vehicle instead of leaving it blank.

With these steps, it is possible for you to donate a car free from any issues that you may get for yourselves. This will not only save you money from fixing other problems in donating the vehicle while making it possible for the institution to get the best value that will help their cause.

Why not donate a car to a charity organization rather than selling it for a few hundred dollars? There are many car donation charity programs to choose from which provide a diversity of benefits to the organization as well as tax benefits for you.

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Popularity Of Car Donations

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Car donation can cause anyone a great deal of benefits. It is a brand new way of expressing your support to your most favored charitable institution. You can even finally have a destination for your unused vehicles instead of just adding up some junk in your own home. Through car donation, you can still see them be put into good use.

First is to be able to stumble upon a charitable institution that accepts direct car donations. If possible, avoid the use of intermediary parties which may cost you a lot more than you expect. It would be better if you can be able to find a charity group that can handle the processing on their own. So better check closely.

Second is to research well about the charities which support such car donation programs and find out more if they hold a dependable credibility. The track record of the charity of your choice should all be registered and if possible have online records at the online site of the Better Business Bureau through the help of the Charity Navigator.

However, this happened before the car donation processes raised their requirements into a more strict process. There are certain strict requirements which any potential candidate for car donation should adhere to. You can check to the most present and up to date IRS instructions and forms.

Next, make sure that the institution will provide you important documents such as IRS forms. These documents are needed to prove that they are approved by the IRS. Check the IRS website to confirm that they have this document.

Once you have chosen an ideal charitable institution, then you must deliver your car donation on your own. If you would have someone to deliver it for you or if you would have it picked up, then this may cost you some additional costs and charges.

Sixth is to do the transfer with utmost care. Steer away from all possible risks of being charged with a couple of parking tickets and other traffic violations. Make sure that when you do your car donation, your vehicle is already free from any trouble and do not leave the car donation paper spaces blank.

To be formally eligible for the tax deduction out of car donation, you must make sure that you hold all the proper documents you need to serve as proof like a written acknowledgement. This could be done in either paper or electronic form. Hence, it could truly help a lot if you would choose a charitable group which would use your car donation for their activities or give it to the needy ones.

There is many car donationprograms that are very helpful to charity. Why don’t you donate a car to a charity program rather than selling it for a few hundred dollars.

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The Benefits of a Charitable Remainder Unitrust

Thursday, June 18th, 2009
by Hank Brock

A Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT) is used to provide an income to a non-charitable beneficiary while at the same time transferring the remainder interest to a qualified charity.

The donor would irreversibly transfer securities or property to a trustee. The trustee would then pay the donor (or other income beneficiary) income from the property for life.

The donor could also provide that if he or she predeceased a spouse, the spouse in turn would receive income from the donated property for life. The donor would receive payments based on a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the assets placed in trust. The assets would be revalued each year.

Further Contributions

Unlike the Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust (CRAT), however, the CRUT may continue to receive assets in later years. The CRUT also differs from a CRAT since the stream paid out by the CRUT trust must be at least 5% of the annual reappraised value of the corpus.

Accordingly, the CRAT disburses a fixed sum of income that never differs in amount, while the CRUT, depending on the reappraised value of the corpus and accumulated income, may issue greater or lesser amounts of income.

Appreciation

If the value of the corpus and income continues to appreciate, the amount of the payment to the non-charitable beneficiary may increase with each succeeding year. This makes the CRUT an effective means of fighting inflation. If, however, the value of the assets continues to depreciate over a period of years, the CRUT may actually pay less income to the non-charitable beneficiary than was originally intended.

A grantor should fund the corpus of a trust with assets that pay a guaranteed rate of return if the grantor wants to ensure a yearly increase in the value of the income payment to the non-charitable beneficiary.

About the Author:
Hank Brock is president of Brock and Associates, LLC, a firm specializing in financial planning, retirement, estate, and tax planning. Visit him online for further information on CRUTs, CRATs, and other financial planning topics.

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