Monday, January 19, 2009

National Day of Service

In his excellent blog, Seth Godin reminds us that Martin Luther King day is thankfully being transformed into a National Day of Service (instead of another shopping day). He offers a list of service ideas that web-savvy people might consider.

In that spirit, I'd like to tell you a little bit about a charity that my family and I support, the International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC). IOCC is the official international charitable organization of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA). IOCC is involved with a wide range of charitable efforts -- everything from helping to feed refuges in the Gaza Strip and Iraq to working to eliminate hunger in the United States.

In many ways, you might say that IOCC is like many other charities. But there are differences, and those differences are why I support IOCC, and urge you to as well. You're not likely to see many celebrity endorsements (though I'm sure IOCC wouldn't mind), and you certainly won't see any marble-floored corporate headquarters, or millionaire Directors. Volunteers and employees of IOCC and related organizations go about their duties quietly and lovingly, called by Christ Himself to be like the Samaritan on the road to Damascus, and help those whom others have passed by.

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