Tag Archives: gfgs

Become An Organ Donor Today

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It’s my birthday and before I head off to punish my liver, I thought I’d try to encourage some good where human organs are concerned.

As the majority of my readers and listeners will be atheists, I think it stands to reason that many of you couldn’t care less what happens to you after you die. I feel the same and it’s this realisation that made me sign up as an organ donor many years ago.

With this in mind, I’m calling on you to join the organ donor list and potentially help someone to live on when it’s your time to go.

Now, I wouldn’t want anyone to feel pressured. Whatever you feel comfortable with is the right decision when it comes to your body. You may wish to go away and think about it, consult loved ones or read up on the topic some more.

For those who are certain however, you can sign up using the below links in a matter of minutes.

U.K.

United States Of America

I’ve only had the time to add the links for the UK and USA so far. I’m aware that I have readers from hundreds of other regions of the planet, so please provide a link to your countries’ donor page in the comments and I will update the post.

Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below whether you have signed up and why! This is a great cause and further demonstrates what can be achieved when a group of online atheists work together to be good for good’s sake.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

New #GFGS Fundraiser For Oldham Cats!

Me and Ginge at Oldham Cats

Me and Ginge at Oldham Cats

Back in 2013 I started a secular fundraising initiative and called it ‘Good For Good’s Sake’. The idea was a simple one; we would use our online presence to raise some funds for a charitable cause. Why? Because it would be a good thing to do, and because we could, How did we do? Well. Really really, really well.

Since its launch, Team #GFGS has raised an astonishing £25,775.83 for charitable causes. No ideological agenda was pushed, nor was anything required in return for our contributions. We were good for its own sake.

This brings me to a new fundraiser I’d like you to get behind for the coming months – this time, with a slightly furrier focus. Typically, in the past we have dedicated our efforts to large, well-supported, human-centric causes – which got me wondering; what sort of impact could Team #GFGS have on smaller charities that don’t receive as much support as WaterAid, MSF or Red Nose Day? I think we should find out. The plan would be to choose a succession of smaller charities throughout the rest of this year, in different countries, but to launch proceedings…

I’m hoping we can start by raising some money for Oldham Cats. Oldham Cats is my local cat sanctuary. I’ve visited a number of times to take food and supplies, and to generally fuss the residents. Below is me with my sponsored cat, ‘Ginge’.MeGingeFloorOldham Cats always try to rehome the cats they take in. And if they can’t, due to medical issues, or because no-one wants them? They become full-time residents, meaning they having free roam of the complex and surrounding fields. You can read their policy in full here. They give a good life, and care to animals that would not be so fortunate without their dedication and love. This, to me, is a good thing worth supporting.

I aim to visit the sanctuary throughout this fundraiser, bringing you updates and providing you with a closer look at how your money will be used. This kind of support for a smaller charity could make such a huge difference.

You can donate to this campaign by visiting the fundraising page here, where credit cards and PayPal are accepted. You can also donate via text by following the below instructions:

textgfgs

Let’s see if we can make a massive difference to a smaller charity. This fundraiser will close at the end of August.

Team #GFGS Does it Again! Over £3,000 Raised For MSF!

msfTeam #GFGS’ yearly charity fundraiser has finally come to a close, raising an incredible £3,002.80 for Médecins Sans Frontières.  This brings the total amount Team #GFGS has raised for charitable causes to £25,775.83.

A gigantic thank you to all those kind enough to donate, support and be a part of something worthwhile.  I continue to be astonished by the kindness and active nature of those I’m fortunate enough to interact with online. I’ve no doubt this amount will help towards improving peoples’ lives.  Isn’t that good?

MSF is a wonderful global cause.  Please see their website to get a glimpse of the vital work they do and consider supporting them again in the future.

Once again, this goal was achieved because a small number of compassionate people agreed that doing something good was worthy for its own sake, regardless of whatever we believe (or don’t) about anything else.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  I’ll see if I can arrange for a downloadable certificate and update this blog post accordingly.

Who’s up for a new challenge for 2015? Have a fantastic new year!

One Final Push For The 2014 #GFGS Charity Appeal

https://www.justgiving.com/Godless-Spellchecker1/

https://www.justgiving.com/Godless-Spellchecker1/

Back in 2013, I decided to launch a charitable fundraising initiative named ‘Good For Good’s Sake’.  The idea behind Team #GFGS is a simple one; regardless of what you do or don’t believe about anything else, all that is needed to do good is to agree that doing good is worthy for its own sake.  Gods, scripture and ancient tablets are not required to appreciate the importance of our fellow primates’ wellbeing.

Witnessing the good will and compassion emanating from a large number of atheists & humanists I interact with online, convinced me that this shared camaraderie could be harnessed into achieving something good together.  And you’ve proved me right time and time again.

Our first fundraising drive for Comic Relief raised £10,930, which put us at number 6 in the top ten UK fundraisers.

We followed this up with another drive for WaterAid.  Surely we couldn’t better our last effort, could we?  Well, we did, raising an incredible £11,843.03.

This was accomplished without any media attention or corporate backing whatsoever. Furthermore, no attempts were made to indoctrinate or demand acknowledgement of a specific worldview. We simply just wanted to do something good.

This brings me to our third and current fundraising effort for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).  The target amount1 is currently set to £2,000.

We’re within touching distance of this amount, but the fundraising will end Christmas Day 2014.  If you’re yet to donate and wish to be a part of something good, now is the time to do it!  Any amount is welcomed, and you can donate a number of different ways.

Donations can be made via PayPal, Credit or Debit Card, or by Texting2 from your mobile phone.

Just giving

Click here to donate

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Donate Via Text by following the above instructions

 

Thank you for all your support for Team #GFGS over the last two years.  Your generosity and passion is truly astounding!

  1. Update 03/12/2014 – The original target amount has been reached!  Given we seem to like a challenge, I’ve increased it to £2,250. 10/12/2014 – The target has been smashed yet again! I’ve increased to £2,500. Update 17/12/2014 – The Target has been smashed once more.  The new target is £3,000 Fundraising closes on 25/12/2014
  2. Please see the texting FAQ to ensure your country and network is supported to avoid any unwanted charges

The Christmas Shoebox Appeal Is A Manipulative Indoctrination Campaign.

OCC

Christmas is coming, which means it’s almost time to dig out that awful sweater, retrieve the decorative tat from the attic and pay tribute to everyone’s favourite magical zombie Jew-God. This has something to do with sprouts too, for reasons unknown.

However, unlike Jesus, one thing guaranteed to return is the Christmas Shoebox charity appeal (AKA ‘Operation Christmas Child’). This appeal usually makes itself known via your offspring’s school, your place of employment or various other local establishments such as pubs or supermarkets.

Operation Christmas Child’ is a seemingly commendable endeavour whereby the general public are asked to fill up empty shoe boxes with unwanted toys, which the charity then transports to children in less privileged regions.

For anyone in possession of a pulse – this will understandably feel like a worthy cause. But are you aware of the charity’s robust ideological goals and troubling behaviour?

Read more

Team #GFGS Returns – Let’s Do Something Good Again!

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Would anyone like to help me do something good again? Back in 2013 I launched ‘Good For Good’s Sake’. This came about after being overwhelmed by the level of compassion & activism displayed by those that engage in the online ‘atheist community’.

I strongly felt that if this shared camaraderie could be channelled in a charitable context, we could really help some people who needed it. As atheists we share only one thing for definite; absence of belief in gods. Our politics, cultural backgrounds and our world-views may differ. Some of you may think Michael Bay makes good films for instance. BUT. There’s one thing I feel we could all agree on: the only thing required to be good is the recognition that it is good for its own sake. We don’t do good for the promise of eternal life, or post-death reward. We don’t do good because it is a doctrinal imperative. We do good because we have empathy, and as conscious creatures, we have concerns for the well-being of our fellow primates across the globe.

With this in mind, Team #GFGS has raised a staggering £22,773.03 for charitable causes so far. We’ve done this by ourselves, without media or corporate backing. Without promoting an ideology, or indoctrinating as a condition of our good deeds. A small group of people, in an even smaller pocket of the World Wide Web came together to achieve something that will make a positive difference to many people. That has to be good, right?

This brings me on to our third charitable drive. Are you up for the challenge? I’ve decided to choose Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Many of you will be familiar with what they do already. For those that aren’t, please see the below video and their website here.

MSF is an entirely Secular charity that delivers emergency medical aid on a global scale to those who need it the most, regardless of race, religion, creed or political affiliation. As with the last fund-raiser, this one will also end on Christmas Day 2014. Be a part of something important.  You can donate online by clicking ‘Sponsor Me’ below, or text ‘GFGS50 £5 (or any amount) to 70070. Spread the word where you can. Please keep an eye on my Twitter feed for updates. If you wish to hold an event for Team #GFGS to raise some money, please let me know!

Be good,

GS

Special thanks to @Wavish for the #GFGS logo

Click to be part of Team #GFGS

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