Searching for a Charity

For my Saturday morning reading I decided to ask about a charity I am thinking of donating some money to. I am researching different charities to see which one would most likely do the most with my money I send them. I need to be very choosy. But I decided to narrow it down to charities that help teens and aid in the prevention of teen suicide. Doing a search, I ran across Elem/Teens in Distress, which is an Israeli charity that does just this. (Click on the link for information about what they do.) I am picky about where my money goes because I want to make sue most of it goes other places besides overhead. Judging by the sheer number of programs (See "Our Programs" Link at the top of any page there), it would be surprising if most of the money did not go towards helping teen in distress. There fund is also a memorial named in honor of a victim of teen suicide.

I did a bit of sleuthing myself, using the tarot, and asked three questions: 1) What is this organization about? 2) Where is my money going to be spent? 3) What services does this organization really provide?

Here is the card positions order:

3 - 1 - 2 

And here are the cards:

(Click to enlarge)

"What is this organization about?" 10 of Swords as teen suicide, plain and simple. If I was in doubt that this organization is all about preventing teen suicide, there is no doubt anymore, after seeing 10 of Swords in this position! I have never seen a card so apropos in a "mundane" reading before (not that the subject matter is mundane, only that this type of reading is).

"Where is my money going to be spent?" Two of Swords I read as "about half and half." Half on material support and half on overhead. Again, looking at the "Our Programs" map on their Web Site, even the overhead would consist of actually helping out those in need. The idea of blind justice evinced by this card comes to mind also. Is there an oversight committee that sees to it that the find is spent properly? Those who collect the money for the Harold Rubin Memorial Fund are not the ones who necessarily spend it. I really don't like this card here as I get the feeling that "the right hand knoweth not" but, then again, isn't this a good thing to have in the business organization of a charity? I don't know enough about charities to make this call. Overall, I don't think this is a bad card to have here.

"What services does this organization really provide?" II High Priestess here made me giggle a little bit. Most of the money is spent on counseling teens in distress (giggling because these cards seems so damned appropriate!) Once again referring to the map on the "Our Programs" Page, one can easily see that this organization provides much needed mental health support all over Israel. One is reminded of the "dual" or international work they do, in addition to helping out Israeli adolescents. The feminine aspect of this card suggests that many of the clients are female. I am glad this card is in this position, too, because it helps me to view Elem/Teens in Distress as a cut-above the other charities that I have been looking at. It seems to be a good charity to donate some money to in the future.

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