GiveBackAmerica

The following is a guest blog entry written by Bev, who has a blog titled Asperger Square 8.

Late in May, I received an email from Rob LaPlante of GiveBackAmerica.org, asking me to support the program, billed as an "online charity mall", through which various organizations receive funding when goods are purchased from a list of participating businesses. I checked out the site, where I saw an autism charity listed, one whose goals and values do not correspond with my own. I also saw a post with something about "fighting autism" in the title.

I informed Mr. LaPlante that I would not be supporting this program and the reasons for that. I fully expected that would be the last I ever heard from him. The next day, though, I received another email. The reference to fighting had been removed. GBA was interested to hear that there are people who do not support a cure and would prefer to see funding for services that might be of actual use to autistic people. They had not heard of neurodiversity, and wanted to learn more.

GBA wrote to several other bloggers on the Hub. It seems that a number of us suggested the same organization be included, The Autism Acceptance Project. I am writing this post to thank Rob and GBA for asking questions, listening to answers, and respecting the opinions of (at least a few) people who are autistic. This is a rare and beautiful thing, and I want to express my appreciation for it.

GBA also supports many other organizations, including a wide spectrum of animal rescue charities. The way it works is that you visit the GBA site first when you plan to shop with a major retailer (they have over 200 listed there). Buy through GBA rather than the retailer's main website, and a portion of the purchase price is donated to the organization you select. No additional charge is incurred by the consumer.

Thank you, Give Back America, for the opportunity to support The Autism Acceptance Project and for increasing the visibility of the autistic rights community.

And thank you Bev, for your help and support.

Posted by Rob at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of our goals at GiveBackAmerica.org is to provide enough charities on our site so that everyone can shop and support their personal favorite cause.  In the process of trying to draw attention to our site, we learned from many members of the autism community that there are a few different views on how autism should be handled.  We are proud to announce that we now feature charities that support each of these views.

First, there is the Foundation for Autism Research & Remediation (FARR).  FARR's main objective is to fund research aimed at developing effective remediation of the specific cognitive, emotional and social deficits which many autistic individuals possess.  They aim at improving the quality of life of autistic individuals by funding research to develop treatments to help make their everyday lives easier.

Second, we are proud to announce the addition of the The Autism Acceptance Project (TAAP) to GiveBackAmerica.org.  TAAP works to promote acceptance of and accommodations for autistic people in society.  They believe in neurodiversity, which Wikipedia defines as "an idea that asserts that atypical (neurodivergent) neurological wiring is a normal human difference that is to be tolerated and respected as any other human difference.  Many autistic individuals and their families feel that trying to "cure" someone with autism is the same as trying to change someones personality, and it should not be done.  TAAP tries to help answer the question "What kinds of help do autistics need in order to succeed and contribute to society as autistic people?". 

We are thankful to all the people who pointed out that there are differing views on Autism. We have added many of their blog links to the section on the bottom right of this page.  Regardless of which charity you support, make sure to use GiveBackAmerica.org every time you shop online.  Both these charities need all the financial support that we can give them.  To start shopping online for your favorite charity at one of our over 200 major retailers, simply click the link below to go to our homepage.

Posted by Rob at 09:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Our goal here at GiveBackAmerica.org is to make sure that as many people as possible visit this site before they shop online, so that charities in need are able to receive much appreciated commissions.  We would like to call on all our loyal supporters to help us get the word out about this great concept.  We have developed something called the Six Degrees of Giving Refer-A-Friend program.  Simply click on the link below, and then fill out the fields with the name and email addresses of up to six of your family, friends, or coworkers.  They will then receive an email personalized from you inviting them to use GiveBackAmerica.org.  Additionally, you can specify a specific charity which you support.  Please help us get the word out about this great way to help out your favorite local charity.

Six Degrees of Giving Refer-A-Friend Program

Posted by Rob at 03:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 June is the American Humane Association's Adopt-A-Cat Month.  This year, the month is being sponsored by 9Lives Cat Food Food.  In the fall of 2006 they started the 9Lives Morris' Million Cat Rescue, where the goal was to find a loving home for 1 million cats.  Starting in June, 9Lives is increasing its support to find homes for cats nationwide.  Also, 9Lives donates to animal shelters every time you purchase their cat food.

Spring and summertime is when animal shelters become the most crowded.  Only about 1 in every 4 cats that are in these shelters are adopted, meaning the rest must be euthanized.  Help save these cats by bringing one into your loving home this month.

Click the link below and choose the American Humane Association as your charity, and when you shop at any of our online stores (over 200 major retailers), American Humane will receive a generous commission, all at no additional cost to you.

Posted by Rob at 01:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Finding a gift for Father's Day is never an easy task, and June 17th is fast approaching.  Here are a few suggestions for gifts that you can buy online, and the great part is you will be able to support your favorite local charity at no additional cost to you.

• A SIRIUS Satellite Radio Subscription from Sirius.com
• A copy of Turbo Tax from TurboTax.com
• A pair of sunglasses for summer from SunglassHut.com
• A DVD collection of their favorite TV show from BestBuy.com
• A subscription to the Wall Street Journal from WSJ.com
• An order of gourmet steaks from OmahaSteaks.com
• A book about their favorite sports team from Amazon.com
• A new tool set from HomeDepot.com
• A new magazine subscription (Sports Illustrated, Time, etc.) from Magazines.com
• A home delivery DVD service from Netflix.com
• New golf equipment from Dicks Sporting Goods or GolfBalls.com
• A weekend away with a hotel stay from Hotels.com

To start shopping for any of these gifts, just click the link below and choose your favorite local charity.  Then proceed to the store of your choice, and buy your gift.  Your charity will receive a generous commission, while you take care of your Father's Day shopping from your home.  How easy is that?

Posted by Rob at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Recently, many people have asked me how to go about getting their favorite charity added to GiveBackAmerica.org.  We are always looking to add new charities to give our supporters the opportunity to shop for their favorite local cause.  If you have a charity you would like to see added to our site, please email me at rob@givebackamerica.com with the charity information.  If you happen to know a specific person we should contact at the charity, please include that as well.

Also, if there is an online store that you like to shop at and is not on our site, email me and we will try to add that as well.  We really want to make sure that our supporters are provided with all their favorite charities and online stores to choose from.  Check back frequently as we will be adding both charities and stores all the time.  Thanks for your support, and remember that together we can make a difference.

Posted by Rob at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)