I thought I would do something to take advantage of this season of giving (hoping some still have something to give).
This is quite simple. You choose your favorite charity, any charity is fine. Then decide what amount you wish to pledge to donate for the chance of having this unique whistle.
PM me your pledge amount and the charity you have chosen. I’ll post back here the current highest pledge (keeping you anonymous if it’s your wish).
I’ll stop accepting pledges at 6:00 pm PST, Saturday, December 30, 2006 - and announce the highest pledge.
When the person making the highest pledge delivers proof of their donation to a charity (like a screen capture of a confirmation web-page) I will ship the whistle to them.
And if you decide to make the donation you pledged, even if you didn’t make the highest pledge and will not receive a whistle, that is certainly not against the rules.
Here’s photos and another of my amusing sound clips:
df77…I love you. It’s awesome of you to be able to not only play an instrument, and even make one…but to use your talents to better the world around you is the mark of great character and integrity.
Well, now I’m embarrassed. I didn’t make it. I’m not a whistle maker.
I did a little fundraiser for charity earlier this year and one of the winners got this whistle - which was anonymously donated.
Due to a twist of fate - and what comes around goes around - I received the whistle back. I was going to offer to send it out on tour, but thought it might have a soul for raising money for charity.
Dan, I really do commend you for what you’re doing, anything to better the community–whether that is the local, state, or worldwide community–is wonderful.
…and I withdraw my request to be included. While others on the board might or might not object to including donations made this holiday season before you made the offer of the whistle (I think it would be in keeping with the holiday season myself)…I’m still really learning on the whistles I have. Another whistle right now would just be a bit…well, greedy of me.
May I suggest you check to see if folks mind you posting their favorite charities, past or present? Butch and I were trying to find a local charity to donate to when we found out about the one here in town, maybe learning about others’ favorite causes will inspire others to give, or provide them with a good cause.
My favorite cause: kids. Having lived in rural (and usually economically depressed areas) most of our lives, hubby and I give to Toys for Tots. There’s also an ‘Angel Tree’ drive to puchase winter coats and clothing for school-age kids who are in need.
Actually, I’ve had a couple PMs from people sharing their excitement about one cause or another they helped during the holiday season. Not in a self righteous way - but in a feel good way.
I think people that give to others and to good causes - without an expectation of gaining something in return - do it because it’s right and feels good. We don’t get a whole lot of opportunities to be undeniably right nowadays. It’s nice to be able to share your passion and good feelings honestly.
This whistle gift is a little strange because of the backhanded reward of sorts - but I don’t think it’s entirely without merit:
An anonymous person pledged (actually already made) a contribution of US$50.00 to the United States Fund for UNICEF on 12/27/06.
It’s become kind of a pattern with the guy. His legs are famous here.
And he’s not alone, by a long shot. There are some other incredibly generous and thoughtful folk who play the whistle and frequent these boards. It’s a great community to be part of.
I have one of these whistles, and it’s amazingly good. They’re made BY HAND, using no power tools by some fellow up in the mountains in one of the Slavic countries (ask Colin Goldie where) and the craftsmanship blows me away. Very few ever make it to the US, so someone, snap this up.
An anonymous donor admitted that they had been considering a gift to Alternatives to Hunger for some time. With a little kick-start - the charity received a late holiday gift of US$350.
Then the anonymous donor turned around and asked me to extend a challenge for others to give in to their philanthropic side and “outbid” them.
So, there’s still nearly three hours until I announce the largest gift kick-started by this little campaign. And if you’re in the U.S. it’s almost time to close the year on charitable gifts that may reduce your liability.
Well, as I said, I received some PMs from people that wanted to share their joy of giving gifts to their community in the holiday season. It’s interesting, there are many generous people in this community - and everyone does it without expectation of kudos. I’m sure there were many more gifts made by C&Frs than were reported to me - and not just during the holidays.
It’s been said before - and it’s worth repeating - there are many wonderful and generous folks here.
As it turns out, the two gifts I know of that were made after I posted this little promotion are already listed in the thread.
I’m sending the whistle off to the anonymous donor of $350 to Alternatives for Hunger.
It’s awesome of you to be able to not only play an instrument, and even make one…but to use your talents to better the world around you is the mark of great character and integrity.
His legs are famous here.