Now here is one of my occasional wacky ideas. They usually come to nothing but you never know. How about a UT group volunteering effort? Home Depot has this thing where volunteers pitch in to do home maintenance type of stuff for the families of soldiers in Iraq. I think this is all over the country so we wouldn't have to deal with the logistics of being in the same place physically. We could all jump in with our most local Home Depot.

I think it's a great cause. Anyone interested? If so let's discuss a date, probably a Saturday morning, and do some good in the world together. I volunteer to coordinate it. Contact me here or at my email, mbeane@inbox.com. I'm fired up!


>Good for you Mike! :o) I read an article recently that stated that 89% of American households give to charity. Higher than any other country. As a nation we give more $ than any other, and we do well as individuals as well. Now, if only the amount our country gives to worldwide charities was proportionate to our wealth (as the Netherlands does). However, I wonder if you add up the individual donations to this country's donations, where would we stand?
>
>You've proven the articles incorrect:
>http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JohnStossel/2006/12/06/who_gives_to_charity
>http://www.city-journal.org/html/rev2007-01-18hh.html
>
>Interesting stats from last year:
>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4785813.stm
>And although the US gave more money than anywhere else, its donation was the smallest of the 21 states in relation to the size of its economy
>
>Something to keep in mind:
>http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html
>
>
>>Good for them!
>>
>>I don't have $45 million to give but just sent another $100 to my favorite charity that supports the families of Iraqi troops.
>>
>>
>>>http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=3004397&page=1
>>>
>>>
>>>When Mark Ecker heard that his 21-year-old son was badly injured in Iraq, his employer told him to pack his bags and go to his son's bedside.
>>>
>>>But IBM's concern for the soldier, Mark Ecker II, only began there.
>>>
>>>Soon word spread throughout the company about the young Army sergeant who eventually lost both legs below the knees. Sgt. Ecker's story made it to the top of the company, and this week IBM announced that it will honor the young soldier with a donation.
>>>
>>>IBM plans to donate $45 million worth of language-translation technology to the U.S. government to help troops and aid organizations better communicate with Iraqi citizens.
>>>