Say you had a million dollars.  That would be pretty cool, right?  You’d probably go shopping more than once a month.  Maybe bankroll your friends at the bar.  Pay off those student loans.  Get yourself set up in a cushy lifestyle, right?

Okay, now say you had $100 million.  You’d still do all of the above, but with the leftover change I hope you’d go all-out Oprah on some people in need.  Genocide refugees, abandoned animals, sad kids with distended bellies and flies on their faces…take your pick.  It’s really not that hard when you look at everything that’s going on in the world.

Or so I thought until one Mr. Henry Kravis proved me wrong.  The dude’s loaded.  Forget millions, his net worth is in the billions range.  And while he did recently make a significant donation, it wasn’t to the type of organization you’d expect.  Thanks to Kravis’ generosity, 100 million of his hard-earned dollars will be going to Columbia University’s Business School.  Because Ivy League universities need 450,000 feet added to their buildings and this guy really needs his name on a library or something.  Riiiight.

I’m sure the school would have gladly accepted a donation of a far lesser sum and maybe even still put his name in big stone-engraved letters somewhere.  The rest of that cool $100 mill could have fed families, bought vaccinations, or sent young girls to school.  Hell, he could have even done something as frivolous as sending a thousand sick kids to a baseball game and it would have been a better call. Read More »

While you’ve been stressing over extra-long sheets and we’ve been hurriedly preparing you for another back-to-school season, the people of Pakistan have had an entirely different set of worries to contend with.  20 million of the country’s citizens have been affected and 1,600 (considered to be a low estimate) have been killed by the horrific floods that have been destroying homes and displacing families for weeks now.

If you haven’t heard much about the disaster, you’re not alone.  It has gone widely under-covered by media outlets and it is for this reason that relief efforts are severely lacking.  As of present, Angelina Jolie is the only Hollywood celebrity to donate, no fundraising concerts have been planned, no drives organized.

Forget packing for school and seeing your friends for a minute and take a moment to donate to people who are really in need. Prove to all those people who say we’re a no-good, selfish generation that we’re able to put to do some good in the world.

The New York Times has released a list of agencies that are collecting resources to help Pakistanis in need.  Some credible, heavy-hitters on the list include: Read More »

Here’s a quick refresher: On January 13, 2010 (just two days ago), a 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti, devastating the country, crumbling their buildings and killing an estimated 50,000 people. Right now, Haitians have nothing: no food, no water, no shelter. Even their government has been destroyed, almost to the point of anarchy, according to some news reports.

You’ve seen the pictures, the videos.
The situation is bad. Really, really bad.

But there is one thing Haitians do have and that’s hope for outside help. Giving back is really important to us at CollegeCandy, and there has never been a better time to do so. Therefore, we are pleading with all of you to take a moment, educate yourselves on the dire situation in Port-au-Prince, and help. Read More »

Free Hugs, because the drugs ain't sellin'.

Tell me a word – any word you want -  and I will show you that the root of that word is Greek.

Let’s try, Philanthropist.

Not to be confused with “Full-On Rapist,” a philanthropist is a “lover of humanity.” A giver. A good person. A helping hand.

So what in the hell do you give someone who constantly loves to..uh..give?

Give the gifts that keep on giving! (And, no, I’m not talking about herpes. That is literally the opposite of a “Happy Holiday.”) Here are a few gifts that give:

The Visa GiveCard:
When your giftee is impossible to shop for, a gift card is really the only way to go. But instead of giving the generic gift card that takes less than three seconds of imagination, give them one that gives back.  The Visa GiveCard is a prepaid gift card where $5 of it is donated toward any of the 5,481 available charities your philanthropist buddy’s heart desires. The rest can be used as a regular gift card to anywhere accepting Visa.

M.A.C Viva Glam lipstick or lipglass – Every last stinkin’ cent goes to the M.A.C AIDS fund to help all people living with HIV and AIDS.  Your friend will look hot and feel good knowing someone else is benefiting from her beauty. Read More »

Give to those who need it most. And who are really cute.

With the holidays comin’ round the bend, I’m sure most of us are starting to think of gifts both for ourselves and for others.  And although receiving is arguably the most enjoyable part of the gift giving tradition, we must not forget others that need our help during this time.  Giving money or volunteering with any charity is awesome regardless of its cause, but I am an advocate of environmentally-geared charities.  Here are some of the top causes and their most reliable charities to get you in the giving mood this holiday season.

Forest Preservation: Because what would the holidays be like without trees covered in snow (or twinkle lights, if you hail from California as well)?  Forests form important ecosystems for many species of wildlife and plants.  Plus, trees are a great source of oxygen and an effective method of carbon sequestration which can lower greenhouse gas levels in the air.  Some of the top rated charities in this arena are: American Forests, The Pachamama Alliance, and Trees, Water, and People (TWP).

Ocean Protection:  The ocean is the world’s last frontier.  There are thousands of species that we do not fully understand or even know about yet.  The ocean exemplifies diversity in an ecosystem and is very essential to our life on earth.  Plus, dolphins are just adorable.  Help protect them and their habitat by donating to one of these charities: Oceana, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Surfrider Foundation, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). Read More »

There’s a great many things to do and places to see in this world of ours.  As humans, our lives are pretty short (and if you party like I do, it’s probably going to be even shorter).  So we have to prioritize!  We have brains for a reason and that reason is…reasoning (well, at least some of us use them for that purpose: see comment about partying above).  Let me be your voice of reason as I show you all the things you should be doing right here, right now.

We’re always told “less is more.”  I’m sure a couple of you out there are familiar with the concept (it’s certainly true in the case of kissing and the amount of tongue insertion…and someone needs to inform that guy I made out with last night).  Recently, I’ve become more attracted to the concept of having less stuff.  This may be because I moved into a single room in the dorms that’s smaller than my walk-in closet at home, but I’d like to think that maybe something else is influencing me.  Perhaps it’s time for society to downgrade.

Think about how much stuff you really have.  Not just the clothes and the shoes (which, for me, is the bulk of my possessions), but every little thing.  Now think about what among those things you couldn’t live without.  If you think hard enough, it’s probably not a lot.  In fact, I’m betting you could live without 98% of your possessions (excluding the ones that, you know, make you smell better and whatnot).  So why not go for it?  Throw your stuff away!  Or, at the very least, donate it to a charitable cause (even though a bonfire of your former possessions is so much more demonstrative…and fun).  You’ll feel better – I promise.  Read More »

Do you know who Bubba is? You don‘t?! Obviously, you have no heart.

Bubba is a cat who grew up on the mean streets of Chicago, spending the first few months of his young life all by his lonesome. After finally being adopted by a nice couple, Bubba was still unable to “flourish.” He was shy all the time, hated visitors, and was just generally one unhappy cat.

Bubba’s owners knew they had to do something, so they called up a pet psychic. They paid someone to tell them the inner thoughts of their cat. And you know what that psychic individual told them? The reason for Bubba’s unhappiness was an inner emotional struggle…that’s right…Bubba was a transgendered cat.

Even though Bubba was a boy, the pet psychic told his owners that Bubba identified as a female. Immediately, the owners jumped into action. They went about “accepting” Bubba’s feelings, and put up a website asking anyone who stumbled upon it to donate money for Bubba’s sex change operation.

How can anyone say no to such a realistic and heartfelt request? How could we possibly ignore the brave plight of Bubba the transgendered cat? The answer is that we can’t. So donate today. Bubba needs us, people.

Wanna save the planet? It’s going to take a lot more than recycling old beer bottles (although that’s good too! keep doing that!!).

Let’s start with the place you sleep, study, sex, and–let’s come clean here–eat. Yes, that’s right, we’re going to make your bedroom green.

Don’t panic! It’s totally easy. Ready? Here we go:

Change Your Bulbs

Replace your light bulbs with energy saving ones. Florescent lights are great–did you know they only use 1/3 of the energy your regular bulbs are using?

Stay Cool

Your air conditioner is sucking up a lot of energy (and costing you a fortune).

If you have an air conditioner, or any other large appliances, replace it with an appliance with the Energy Star label.

Or, if you’re really brave, ditch the AC and use fans instead. Or at least try to use fans instead of air conditioning most of the time.

Line Your Windows

You lose a lot of energy right out the cracks around your windows. Line your windows with either caulk or weather-stripping to keep that shiz in! Read More »

So I know I’m not the only person who feels incredibly guilty after reading stories about abject poverty in other countries. Subsequently, I feel even worse when I put it out of my mind and get back to own, comparatively ridiculously affluent life.

So I’ve compiled a list of really great and easy ways to contribute to some incredibly worthy causes. Bonus: they’re all things you can do easily on your laptop at any time!

Free Rice: This handy little tool not only helps feed the hungry by donating rice to the United Nations World Food Program, it can also improve your vocabulary! Just answer as many vocabulary questions as you wish, and for each one you answer correctly, the advertisers on the page donate 20 grains of rice to the WFP. The questions increase in difficulty for each correct answer, and so does the amount of rice donated. It’s a win-win!

Read More »

Being in a sorority, I’m always looking to make the world a better place, (and not just for underage drinkers everywhere.)

I’ll admit it’s not entirely selfless. The more philanthropy you do, the better your stance in the “Greek life” community, and the better that is, the better house your sorority or fraternity gets for the following year. But seeing as we’re so small we’re going to get stuck with the same small suite we always get no matter what we do — we tend to actually do charity for charity’s sake.

But you don’t have to be “Greek” to give back to your community, (though it’s my obligation as a sorority girl to urge you to rush in the fall *fake smile*.) In fact, all you have to do is shop!

Yup, charity is right around every corner we turn nowadays from Product Red to the One campaign. Companies everywhere are coming up with clever ways to literally sell good works.

At first, being the jaded girl I am, thought that buying these products did little actual good for the people they claim to help, and that celebs and businesses were just acting like grown up sorors and frats, spending the time to get the good PR.

But with how rapidly “shopping for a cause” and “helping others never goes out of style” became in style, I recognized that regardless of the reasons, these people are getting the word out there and raising awareness. Read More »