I do this about every six months, I think, give or take. I used to call it the Charity Drabblefest but since the infamous Drabble Wank 2004, it is henceforth to be known as the Flopsy Hop For Charity. What is a flopsy, some of you ask? It is an ironic term for a short work of fiction between 80 and 300 words. A drabble, a precisely 100-word fic according to the wankers purists, is by definition a flopsy, but a flopsy is rarely a drabble. Hey, don't argue with me about the whole "what's in a name" deal. I still use the word sarcastically.
Anyway, the point is, give to a good cause today (for a given value of "today", time zones being what they are), comment tell me about it here, and get a free flopsy on the subject of your choice from me in comment-reply. All you have to do is provide the fandom and a ship or theme or quote to write on, and be patient -- last time I think it took me about a week to write them all.
Feel free to link to this in your own journal if you want. Because I am a masochist.
I write in the following fandoms:
Harry Potter (JK Rowling)
Discworld (Terry Pratchett)
Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy Sayers)
Nero Wolfe (Rex Stout)
Sherlock Holmes (Sir A. C. Doyle)
Black Books (BBC)
I, Claudius (BBC) (will also write fics about Julius and/or Augustus Caesar in the Suetonian tradition)
Pirates of the Caribbean
Certain works of Shakespeare (Merchant of Venice, Much Ado, Hamlet, Macbeth)
But where do you give, eh? Well, if you have a favourite charity, give there; you can also donate blood if you happen to be out and about.
You can, of course, donate to the Tea Against Terrorism fund, which is actually a subdivision of my personal paypal account, the contents of which will be sent as a lump sum to the Red Cross for their London Bombing Relief Fund. A part of it may also be dispersed to one or two individuals who had to spend emergency funds to get hold of family or get home that day; at least one person in fandom is looking at a rent bill at the end of the month they won't be able to pay because of the bombings.
There are also standard places to donate that I tend to recommend:
I was going to link to a donation site for Tsunami Relief, but both the Red Cross and Save The Children say that they have adequate funding for that particular project, which is sort of astronomically great, when you think about it. Save The Children does ask for contributions to their general fund, however. Another child-oriented charity is The SOS Children's Fund which is doing a lot of work with AIDS orphans in Africa right now.
There's always fandom. Skyehawke has been struggling lately, and I know there are some people who have been annoyed, but all the more reason they need the funding, which you can give them here. Fiction Alley takes donations here and offers neat rewards. You can also, and I would actually prefer this, buy a wristband to support the Katie O'Brien Memorial Scholarship Fund which may very well send your fanchild to college someday.
The Human Rights Campaign, fighting for LGBT rights. They have a minimum $10 donation, but I'll also accept a signature on the Million For Marriage Campaign if you're a legal voting American. Just about every country has a similar organisation.
The ASPCA and RSPCA, or the local humane animal society in your area, are always good places to donate. If you adopt a pet, I'll make you an icon to your specs. And I want photos, cos pets are awesome.
UNICEF, I am reminded, also takes donations; they do a lot of good work improving third-world countries rather than giving handouts.
Amnesty International, though their donations process is a little tricky to get through.
In America, you can support your local public television station and they'll probably give you a sticker.
Greenpeace, that band of loveable whale huggers, takes donations.
Don't like what you see? You can give to theatres, museums, symphonies, soup kitchens, food pantrys, veteran and police organisations, and medical clinics. You can give to awareness funds and research organisations. Googling phrases like "breast cancer" "diabetes research" "Llama rescue" and "charitable giving" will provide you with a veritable cornucopia of options to choose from.
Actually I doubt llama rescue will be of much help, but it never hurts to try.
The usual caveats apply. You're on the honour system here, so you know karma will get you if you steal a flopsy. Also, please, please, please don't donate if you don't have the funds. Believe me, I've been there. This is an optional activity and a fun way to raise a little money for good causes; buy yourself some groceries first, okay? Man cannot live by flopsy alone.
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