3 Cups of Tea, A horse, A Smelly Cast and Picasso

Recently there has been a controversy about the charitable work performed by Greg Mortenson and as recorded in his highly acclaimed book Three Cups of Tea. Here is a quick clip. (14 minutes)



http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7363068n&tag=mg;mostpopvideo


In the firestorm that has followed several have used this story as a reason to question charity and charitable intentions. It appears that Mortenson is not as charitable as it appears. It appears he made things up to raise more money. It appears some of that money was not used for charitable purposes as well.

I am glad that things like this come to light. At the same time I worry about the cynicism this creates. I worry that honest, heart felt philanthropy may been damaged as well. With that in mind let me share a number of stories from across the web today about how charity is still alive and well. Some of these stories are about individuals being charitable some are about the organizations that are benefiting but all give me hope that in spite of what appears to be one highly publicized bad apple there is still a lot of good and generous people in the world.


Donation lets others enjoy a horseback ride
This is a fun story about a young lady who donates her horse to help those with disabilities. Are we will to give away something we love?

Anonymous Picasso donation an $18 million windfall for Sydney University
This one is about a University that received an anonymous gift in the form of a painting. How many of us require recognition when we give? What would an anonymous gift feel like? Have you ever given anonymously?


Man running across U.S. to bring attention to kids' charity Six pairs of running shoes, four months, and 50 pounds lighter, this guy is about to complete a run across America in an effort to draw attention to a charity that he cares about.

Pushups raise funds for charity This one is kind of fun. Can you do 129 pushups in 90 seconds? Well a group of fireman got together to raise money for Vets with a pushup competition.


Gross! LoMo to Auction Foot Cast for Charity Admittedly this one is pretty gross, but it is raising money for a good cause. What to do when you are a Marlins professional baseball player, you have a hard cast that is going to be removed from your foot, you have adoring fans, and the cast has been signed by everyone on the team? Well you auction the gross little thing off on eBay of course and then give the proceeds to the American Lung Association.




Tae kwon do students break boards for charity In exchange for breaking at little more than 300 boards these youngsters raised almost $1K to send to help people in Japan.

Swimming: Jordan makes waves for charity Finally here is a story about a girl that swam and swam to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Remember all the above stories came from articles either from today or yesterday. The world really is full of charitable people, even if the occasional fraud gets the headlines on the major news networks.