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While visitations may be less regular as time passes, The Sigil has long gifted on this forum and would like to make a special effort to mark this particular season with a little grandeur. With that in mind, I ask that you read their words carefully and with a receptive mind.
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It's that time of year once more when many people are celebrating various fesitvities. For some, giving becomes a thought, forms into an idea, and evolves into a plan, then into action.
For a great deal of us of course, our thoughts turn to our loved ones - family, friends and absent friends - wherever they may be. It may be considered that an absent friend is simply someone you have not met as yet - perhaps someone you never will - because friendship is more than mere companionship.
At this time of year, some prefer to remember and aid the less fortunate in life - through charitable acts - the act of giving in the most humbling sense.

Thought is given form as an idea and becomes a plan, then an action.

For absent friends - those we miss, those we have not yet met, and those whom we never shall.

The Sigil.
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For this giveaway, The Sigil has been inspired to change the game - for starters, there is a grand prize fund* of $75 / ~£50 / ~70 euros. This prize fund, however, is not for any of you - not for the joy of gaming.

The prize is for charity.

The Sigil asks that you not only enter this giveaway to celebrate and remember those absent friends we miss - wherever they may be, but that you enter and consider making yourself an absent friend for others - those particularly in need at this time of year especially.

*As a result of a generous donation by chadjenofsky, we now have two prizes of the same amount on offer. :)

Qualification for Nominations:
1) Due to potential misuse of this by those from outside the forum making new accounts to support a particular cause, only nominations made by those registered in October 2015 or earlier will be considered. We are sorry to those who have joined more recently, but it seems neccesary in the light of some tensions on the forum this year. You are welcome, however, to nominate in the same manner as everybody else to highlight a fitting cause in accordance with the rules.
2) No nominations for political organisations, non-profits, kickstarters, gofundme's etc will be considered. Each nomination MUST be for a registered charity.
3) Please clearly name and provide a link to the official charity website AND a video or article on the work of the organisation / the cause of it. Articles should be third party only - such as a news site or blog - and not produced / directly sourced from the charity in any way (this is why we've stated they can be about the broader cause, as opposed to just the specific charity).
Then ALSO describe in your own words why it is that you feel it should recieve the prize money. Remember we are asking you to remember the less fortunate and that in particular, the prize money should be going somewhere it can really make a difference. An example nomination can be found HERE - you don't have to use that exact formattting, its just a rough guide to the kind of thing we want to see. :)
4) We will accept multiple nominations for the same (broad) cause, but not for the same charity. So again, please be clear in the naming and linking of the charity, or you are wasting your time, our time and also an opportunity for others to benefit. Also please read the thread very carefully before you post.
5) These rules are not up for discussion.
6) Qualifying nominations will be drawn via random.org on Tuesday December 15th.
Post edited December 03, 2015 by Sachys
Great stuff. I'll do some digging and provide a nomination before the deadline. Kudos Sigil!
This is an awesome idea! Thanks to the Sigil.
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Example Nomination - you don't have to follow the format exactly of course.
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I'd like to nominate Newcastle West End Foodbank - a part of The Trussell Trust, a Christian charity committed to community action against poverty and marginalisation in the UK and Bulgaria.

The reason I nominate them is I've been there before - no job, no benefits, nobody to fall back on - no food. These places dont just ensure you can stay alive, they provide hope and light when something so simple can make your days so dark - some (as you may take from the video that follows) even provide a sense of community and of belonging.
Thing is, this time of year in the UK, benefits are at higher sanctions than any other, Christmas is coming up and I know a prizefund like that can make a MASSIVE difference to a bunch of local people. Just imagine how much dried noodles, bread, tins of christmas pudding it can get them! Basic stuff - but basic stuff people would have to go without otherwise.

Heres a Youtube documentary on some of the people currently in this situation (includes subtitles - which may even be required for UK residents).

[url=Shy Bairns Get Nowt - food Poverty In The UK]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIWARrp_A68[/url]

Thanks.

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Post edited December 01, 2015 by Sachys
A wonderful idea!
I too will investigate for a bit and come up with a charity to nominate.
I am going to nominate Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/). Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health care to those who need it the most.

For information about the work Planned Parenthood does, see
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are

Planned Parenthood deserves the prize money because it does good work and has been the victim of nasty attacks. Sometimes, a person may have health issues and have nowhere to turn; Planned Parenthood has helped many in this situation.

Also, a donation to Planned Parenthood would be a nice way to remember the victims of the Colorado Springs shooting just last Friday.

Edit: Since a link to a third party source was requested (even though it wasn't a rule when I made this post), there is this:
http://plannedparenthoodsavedme.tumblr.com/
Post edited December 02, 2015 by dtgreene
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dtgreene: I am going to nominate Planned Parenthood (https://www.plannedparenthood.org/). Planned Parenthood provides reproductive health care to those who need it the most.

For information about the work Planned Parenthood does, see
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are

Planned Parenthood deserves the prize money because it does good work and has been the victim of nasty attacks. Sometimes, a person may have health issues and have nowhere to turn; Planned Parenthood has helped many in this situation.

Also, a donation to Planned Parenthood would be a nice way to remember the victims of the Colorado Springs shooting just last Friday.
I can't top this. I salute you dtgreene.
Lovely idea. I'd like to make a nomination, but I'm not sure I understand what exactly rule #2 regarding "non-profits" entails.

Could you provide a couple of examples as to what is excluded under this?

Cheers
http: //www. my sistersplacedc. org/

My Sisters Place

I nominate them because they are an organization that helps women who are stuck in violent domestic situations as well as there children. Note though that I got my store to sponsor them for the place 4 or 5 years (still sponsored). Doing collections, volunteer work, books and backpack collections, toy drives.
*edit Never mind... Will fix this up later :)
Post edited December 02, 2015 by saramakos
nice idea, thanks sigil
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apehater: nice idea, thanks sigil
Oh dear...... Sorry for your loss. +1
This is a great idea, thanks Sigil and Sachys.

I want to put down The World Food Programme, but since it is through the U.N., not sure that it counts. ?
http://www.wfp.org/

I think the work they do against hunger, especially in war torn regions, is amazing. There was a great report about them on 60 Minutes, but unfortunately you can't watch the whole video unless you have a full access subscription to CBS. :( It was by Scott Pelley calld "War and Hunger".

But here is a short clip giving you a good idea of what they do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQKxs_c8fAs

They have also made getting food feel less like a charity and more like grocery shopping in their new posts in Jordan to combat the large influx of Syrian refugees. It isn't just about fighting hunger, it's also about getting back sense of humanity and self-worth.

If it doesn't count, and I don't think it will, my passion is with fighting hunger, so I would then throw my hat in for Sachys' Newcastle West End Food Bank. We talked about this charity earlier, and I think what they are doing is wonderful.

Edit: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/tag/world-food-program/
Post edited December 02, 2015 by Crewdroog
I've just updated the OP to clarify that articles should be third party only - such as a news site or blog - and not produced / directly sourced from the charity in any way (this is why we've stated they can be about the broader cause, as opposed to just the specific charity).
This could be usefull here.

http://www.charitynavigator.org

Tax records and expenditure charts to determine transparancy and efficiency etc.