#US Charitable Distribution

[tessansgp]

5 Tax Reducing Strategies (For Individuals) [Video]

[orphicsun]

—Charity Girl—

Jackson Ellie x Fem! reader one-shot

Content: Slightly enemies to lovers, Ellie’s an asshole, AFAB reader, mentions of death and slightly graphic description, smut, nipple play, oral sex (r! receiving), making out, Ellie isn’t very cannon so if that peeves you don’t read this, mentions of weed, set in TLOU 2 universe, Joel is alive!!, this is unedited so lmk if there is any typos

Word Count: 5k

Description: You love Jackson, and you like helping people out. From farm chores to playing chess with the elderly, you’re liked around Jackson for being a charitable girl. You think everyone deserves some kindness. Everyone except Ellie, who can’t seem to find it in her to be nice to the one person who doesn’t deserve a harsh word.

God, you hated Ellie Williams.

You didn't want to say you hated her. You were a friendly person and you tried to be respectful to everyone. You even tolerated Seth, who was one of Jackson's conservative-minded guys. You rightfully disliked him, but you still remained civil when it came to professional matters.

However, it was just so hard to remain that way with Ellie. You didn't even know how truly irritating she was just seeing her around town, glancing over at her before she left for patrols with usually Jesse, Dina, Tommy, or Joel. She seemed pretty likable, at least from what you had heard. She moved to Jackson a while ago, before you even arrived at the settlement. You had never really needed to talk or had any interest in becoming friends.

You were a kind girl, and everyone in Jackson knew that. You liked helping out even if patrols weren't your strong suit. You felt insecure in that category being a bit less into scavenging and the dangers that lurked outside the town, so you decided to at least make yourself a bit useful. You made it a habit to use your love of baking to bring cupcakes to the playground for all of the children to eat. Sometimes it made you a bit sad to think about how little they had growing up in a post-apocalyptic world, but that wasn't a thought you could dwell on. You also made sure to keep the few senior citizens company because most people just didn't have the time to spend with them. Not that you didn't understand that, but you didn't sign up for patrols voluntarily unless someone else was ill and needed you to cover for them, or Maria needed an extra person. But it was just heart warming to know you made an impact since many of the old folks in towns didn't have family to keep them company. You'd spend hours playing board games with them, baking those little pastries they all complimented, asking them about their days. You were an angel amongst Jackson.

You were also extremely known for helping with food related jobs, such as gardening and farming. It was rewarding, since even though currency was quite useless in the world nowadays, you had the income of being able to take home vegetables, milk, butter, and even eggs when the chickens were active.

You mostly got along with anyone, and you tried to be a humble person. You just wanted to make the most of what you had. However, Ellie was..well, she was something. You'd soon be learning that.

It was summer, and everything was going fine for you. The sunlight hit Jackson in the most divine way and birds were flying over the settlement. You finished up with collecting eggs from one of the henhouses, so you grabbed a few as payment and headed to the diner to drop off a few. Everything was relatively normal. You glanced over at the gate and noticed that Jesse and Ellie had just gotten back from a patrol. Jesse was laughing about something and Ellie looked amusingly irritated. You couldn't help but think to yourself about how she was a pretty girl. She always wore her hair in a low messy bun, bangs framing her freckled face. You always were curious about her, but you just wrote your thoughts off as simple appreciation for her.

After you distributed the eggs to the diner and the supply building, you headed home. It was a short walk since Jackson wasn't a majorly huge place. Your house was small since you moved there alone, but it still home. You opened the front door and stepped inside. You still smelled the candles you'd lit from the previous night when you had been watching movies on DVDs found outside of Jackson on your small television. It was always the same movies. 10 Things I hate about you, Forest Gump, Scream, the Blair Witch Project(which had scared you so badly you were afraid to go patrolling in the forest for 3 months straight; you pathetically begged Maria not to make you do patrols), and E.T. It was just a random assortment of movies you had found in an abandoned house in a town outside of Jackson, but entertainment was entertainment. Who were you to complain?

You opened your fridge and stored the eggs inside, and then spent the next few minutes internally debating what you could do with your free-time. You still had a few books on your shelf that were mainly unread, but you hated staying indoors and reading like a hermit. Well, it was a nice day. You shuffled over to your shelf and picked up a book you'd borrowed from Cat a while ago and never read: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. Apparently, it was a classic a few centuries ago. With the book in hand, you left your house to find the well-used bench outside of the Tipsy Bison. It was where you loved to just sit and socialize with people or read when you wanted to breathe in fresh air.

One thing about you was that you enjoyed nature. While you did hate patrols, the idea of having to fend for yourself being unappealing, you loved the beautiful parts of it. Some debated that the infection was a part of nature, and you knew that, too. But still, you preferred being in the safety of a settlement. You knew what it was like to spend time in the outside world and it wasn't pretty. You enjoyed inhaling the air, watching as people lived their lives. Mortality was so precious right now, and maybe that's why you tried so hard to get along with everyone. You thought everyone deserved kindness.

Still, this life you led was mundane and boring at times. You were slightly envious of the patrollers. People in the current world were often restless, and as much as you’d think Jackson’s residents would love a mundane life with safety, they craved the survival. Maybe it was from their own personal trauma, but you weren’t able get that same lapse in routine everyone else got. It made you crave something extra from life, always feeling as if something was missing. Life this way, spent working and your free-time devoted to simple things, felt too easy. It felt like a deal in which you didn’t know the conditions of, and you subconsciously believed every good thing in the world had a cost. This easy lifestyle had to have a price.

For the next 15 minutes, you began your reading on that small bench. That was, until you heard someone sit down next to you. You glanced over to see Ellie there, alone next to you without any of her companions. Not that she was incapable of being alone, of course, but Ellie was the type of person to be reserved to her select group. Not a social butterfly like you, but well liked in an ironic way. She was so effortlessly able to get people to like her while not caring about whether or not people liked her. You gave her a warm smile and quickly doggy-eared the page you were reading, closing the book and setting it down into your lap.

"Can I help you with something?" You asked, remaining polite. You knew you probably seemed short with her, but if you were being truthful, the girl made you a tad bit nervous. Really, she had a positive impression on your brain. Before you really got to know her, at least.

She shrugged, feigning indifference, and answered you in a voice that was slightly teasing, her voice lacking the type of friendly amusement you'd expect from her. "Just wanted to say hi. Why is it that you sit out here everyday? Do you not have anything else to do?"

You were a bit shocked by that reply to say the least. You didn't ever expect Ellie to be even slightly rude. However, you were trying to be friendly. You'd kill this with some kindness. "Well, it's a nice day. I like the fresh air, you know?" You answered, trying to not sound too defensive.

The girl simply gave you a look you couldn't identify. Slight disapproval, and something you couldn't read. "You like fresh air? I thought you hated being outside. You know, since you never volunteer to go outside the walls and contribute?"

Now, that started to peeve you. Ellie was gorgeous, but even your little crush on her that you didn't realize you even had would save her now. Still..you tried to be friendly. Kindness is a virtue, you reminded yourself. "Everyone has their preferences. I personally like helping with the animals and harvesting crops." Once again, you tried to not sound too defensive. Something about Ellie's demeanor, the way she was looking at you intently, it made you feel as if she was trying to tease you to get a reaction out of you.

"Well, suit yourself then. But people risk their lives for you. The least you could do is return the favor. That's all I had to say." And with that last comment, she just stood up and waved at you before walking off.

It was so hard not to catch up to her and ask her what her deal was, but that would cause more problems than it would solve for you. You sat on the bench, confused and frustrated.

The next few weeks, these little comments Ellie made to you continued. It was either some slight judgment about the book you were reading or that you spent too much time trying to look sweet that you were actually just useless. It was always with a tone that was so rude yet seemed teasing. You wondered if she meant any of it. You always tried to defend yourself, but you were starting to really despise Ellie. You considered talking to someone like Maria, Tommy, or Joel about it, but would they even believe you? Ellie was usually not so rude from the conversations you had overheard. She seemed like a normal girl. It was frustrating having nobody to tell this to. Your friends always laughed you off, saying that Ellie was probably just joking with you to be friendly and that you were misunderstanding her. Everyone in Jackson loved Ellie, and she seemed to get along with everyone just fine except for you. Still, you tried to be sweet. You would simply brush her off, pretend like she was just some old person who made subtle criticisms and not anything serious. It was just really starting to get to you, though. You wondered how long you could manage.

Turns out, you would have to manage a patrol with her. Someone did in fact become ill and had to turn down a patrol, so you volunteered. Only then did Maria seem to mention that your partner was Ellie. You wanted to beg to swap with someone else, but you didn't want to inconvenience anyone, so you accepted the fate. It was a foot patrol among the south trails. 8 hours of pure torture.

Foot patrols were entirely different matters than what usual patrols entail. For starters, usual patrols require horses and cover more distance. They’re less dangerous. Being on foot also requires you to trust your partner more, which you struggle to do with your current partner. You have to trust that they’ll cooperate with you and have your back if things get tough. However, foot patrols do not require patrollers to hit up the main buildings or hot spots. You only check into the small places around the area, such as the office downtown or the gun store a mile from the grocery store. You’re less likely to get ambushed by a horde of clickers that way.

The fact that it was a summer patrol instead of winter made it slightly better. You imagined what it’d be like if you and Ellie got trapped in a snowstorm and were locked into some grocery store together. Annoyingly enough, the idea of having to share body heat with her made your heart flutter more than you’d like to admit. Summer patrols meant you’d probably have to take a lot of rests so neither of you would overheat, however.v

The cork board outside of the supply station mocked you in a way with your name being beside Ellie’s. You truly began to wonder if you could handle being alone with the girl who subtly tormented you for weeks straight without finally snapping. You didn’t want to know what would happen if you snapped at her. Would she yell back, or maybe even report you to Maria? You just knew that your usual patience was wearing thin.

You went home and collapsed onto your bed, hoping that a good night’s sleep would somehow save you from the situation you’d be facing tomorrow. As if Ellie would suddenly leave you be if you got enough sleep—you were just truly desperate.

Night didn’t last forever, and you woke to the sight of light streaming through your curtains in small patches. You groaned and forced yourself to get out of bed. The alarm clock read “6 A.M.” Much too early to have to deal with Ellie Williams.

You took a quick shower just to freshen up and got ready for the day, messily tying your hair back and putting on a pair of tan cargo pants, a light button-up, and a pair of combat boots. Simple, but safe. You packed a bag with some emergency medical supplies including gauze, alcohol pads, and a bottle of ibuprofen. You knew that you'd be given a care package from the supply crew, but you liked to be safe.

You would always grab a shotgun and a pistol from the weaponry building. Most people would choose to take the rifles, but you found it easier to shoot a light pistol and shotguns were easier to aim with. You knew the more trained people, Ellie included, would bring knives or machetes to clear infected with. You didn't trust yourself to get so close to the infected, at least not without something like a gun. Extra ammo, and extra MREs. You always felt a bit more safe bringing just a few extra things in case of emergencies.

You remember when you arrived at Jackson, and you were assigned your very first patrol at 17. You spent hours before patrol preparing with extra equipment, and it soon became a habit to overthink the experience. Your partners would ask about it, maybe give you an odd look, but most people just got used to it after a while. Everyone assumed it was because of your life before Jackson, and they'd guessed right.

The children that were raised in Jackson were unfortunate to have even been born in such a dangerous world that can snatch away the people you care for most, but they at least grew up into safety. You were nomadic, moving from settlement to settlement, group to group, or even just setting up camp in the middle of a forest or abandoned city. It was a dangerous life, and it left you constantly losing sleep, waking up and wondering if your father who you traveled with would be able to protect you if something truly happened. If the two of you had the misfortune of stumbling upon a horde of infected or run into a slaver group. It was often that you'd sleep so lightly, even the sound of a mouse scurrying across an abandoned office floor would wake you. You were terrified with the thought of being eaten alive in your sleep or worse, bitten, and left to slowly lose your humanity.

The day your father was killed off wasn't much different than any other, and that resulted in your current state. Always being overprepared because maybe you could prevent sudden death. Just maybe if you brought one extra gauze strip, you'd somehow prevent past you from watching your father be torn apart from a clicker. Jackson was supposed to be a fresh start for you, so you always found yourself repeating the same phrase.

"Make the best of what you have, and don't dwell on what you've lost."

Sometimes you break your own rules, though.

It was around 6:45 when you arrived at the gates. The sun wasn't up yet, and that meant flashlights would probably be necessary. One downside to summer patrol was that the sun set late, but the sun rose late, too. You anticipated the hues of orange and pink that would paint the sky and give you light.

You were snapped out of your thoughts when Ellie cleared her throat, signaling she was here and ready to go. You stole a glance at her and your heart fell into your stomach.

She looked messy and somehow so gorgeous that it hurt. She had a slightly masculine energy to her with a pair of brown leathers boots and boot-cut dark jeans that still found a way to hug her thighs so deliciously. She wore a short-sleeve t-shirt you'd seen on her before and her low bun had strands falling out of it, strands you secretly wanted to tuck behind her ears.

You scratched those thoughts out of your head when she opened her mouth.

"Are you conscious? We need to get moving." She had a slightly scolding tone that made you want to bite back with something just as condescending, but you held back.

Instead, you simply nodded, and Ellie probably could've sworn that you had veins popping out of your forehead. Who could've blamed you? Ellie was such an asshole to you.

Ellie's mind was an extremely complicated place. Her thoughts were quick, and she felt the need to always be on task. However, one difference between the two of you was that she got into trouble at times. It was quite inevitable though, especially when she was friends with Dina and Jesse.

Incidents like getting high off her ass on patrol, messing around with a squeaky toy and accidently attracting a group of walkers, losing her temper and pissing off a group of stragglers, or when her and Jesse abused the walkie-talkies.

She was naturally in need of routine breaks, and maybe that's why she teased you so much. She felt a little envious. You were this perfect girl, sweet as they come, who cared for the people in town who didn't usually have company. You didn't do patrols and you were still an incredibly hard worker in ways Ellie felt lacking, because there were so many people around town who kissed your ass for doing something as simple as milking the cows.

That wasn't all Ellie's thoughts about you were based around, though. Something about how boring your life was somehow appealed to her, and she hated herself for even thinking about you. She also shouldn't have been obsessing over a girl who was probably straight, like most girls in Jackson, of course. But something about you really made her want to break you and see you snap. Maybe that's why she spent so much time trying to get a reaction out of you. She knew she was being a dickhead to you, but she still just needed to see that snap. She'd finally be able to know that you were more than just some nice girl, then.

Truth was, Ellie was probably in love with you with the amount she thought about you. Insulting you was so easy, though. It was so easy to pretend that she didn't like you than to make an effort to impress you and be herself. She was scared of letting you know who she actually was because you may reject her forreal, and she couldn't handle that.

So it was best to pretend like she enjoyed being extremely condescending to you.

The first two hours of patrol was spent walking in close proximity on the trails south of the creek. You could practically smell the water, and you could feel the slight breeze that gave you some relief the extreme heat. Every now and then you'd take a sip of water and look around cautiously. Caution was something you couldn't live without, and Ellie seemed to take a notice to that. It was just your lucky day that she was in the mood to be an asshole to you again.

She'd make small remarks to you, sometimes questioning the way your hands trembled anxiously, or asking you why you didn't bring any good weapons. When it was lunch time, she laughed at the ridiculous amount of rations in your backpack. Slowly, you felt peeved. Why was Ellie such a bitch to you? You knew she didn't actually care about these things, yet she loved to point them out in the most grating voice she could muster up. After one particular comment that was something along the lines of "You know, it's embarrassing that someone else had to get sick for you do take a patrol shift" that finally made you snap.

You halted along the trail and turned to face her, a sudden irrational wave of anger flooding your system. "What the fuck is your problem?! Are you just mad because you hate me? Is that it? I don't understand what I did to deserve you constantly criticizing me!" You snapped, voice clear with anger. You stepped forward and you wanted to slap her across the face, hardly holding back from doing so. Ellie sensed this and maybe she felt a twinge of fear and something else you didn't even notice. This was odd seeing as she could easily kick your ass. Her back hit a large tree, her eyes widened as if she couldn't have possibly predicted this reaction. This only made you more irritated.

You stepped forward, your body close enough to hears that you could hear her inhale and exhale, and it was a shaky sound that you would've questioned if it weren't for your anger serving as a distraction. "Answer me, asshole! Why do you hate me so much?! Just fucking-" And you were cut off with a kiss.

Her hands desperately grasped at your face, pulling you closer as she kissed you. It wasn't the standard type of sweet kiss in which two people would brush up against each other's lips. She was practically devouring you with her need. At first, you couldn't process what was happening. Ellie was kissing you so hard you felt almost lightheaded. But for some reason, all of the anger you felt was flushed away as you began to kiss her back.

Ellie took some initiative and flipped you around so that you were backed up against the tree, the rough bark digging into your back. However, you couldn't focus on any discomfort present in your body. All you could feel was the numbing swell of your lips as Ellie's practically bruised yours. You felt her teeth bite on your bottom lip, and you let out a pathetic moan. Her hands were somehow everywhere, from your face to the sides of your body as if she was trying to pull the warmth from your body.

She tasted so fucking good, it was hard to stop. You could faintly taste copper from where she bit down onto your lip, but you could also taste her in such an intimate way, it was more emotional than it seemed. A mix of her toothpaste, and an Earthiness you'd imagined she'd contain. The two of you were lost in each other that patrol was all but forgotten.

You finally had to pull away to breathe, but she needed more. Her hands trailed across your chest, palming at your tits through your shirt. You tilted your head back against the tree, and she took the opportunity to leave hungry kisses on your pulse point, probably sucking hard enough on your skin to leave hickey's you'd lecture her about later. But for now, you didn't care.

It was all a blur, her pulling at your clothes and the both of you left naked against the tree not long after. She tugged at your hair while lapping at your tits, and this made you breathless. "Ellie, please.." You didn't even know what you were begging for.

She let out a soft noise and released the latch she had on one of your tits. “Fuck, I like this version of you so much better than the other one..” She said, her voice riddled with an obvious sense of need that made your thigh involuntarily clench. She moved upwards, her tongue meeting your collarbone and then up to your jaw. She kissed down the side of your neck, the heat of her mouth and the wetness of her tongue enveloping you. You tilted your head back, your breathing coming out in soft pants. You didn’t understand how you could hate her moments before and somehow be a mess for her now. You really wanted to hate how good it felt, but you really couldn’t even find an ounce of fight left in you to try and push her away. You didn’t want to push her away. 

Her hands moved to your tits, kneading them softly, pinching your nipples while she mouthed at the sensitive spot between your shoulder and neck. It felt like heaven the way her lips caressed your skin. 

She moved much too slowly down your body, kissing both of your stiff nipples before sliding her tongue down your navel. Her hands pulled at your waist and you couldn’t help but arch your back slightly to meet her mouth as it moved against your thighs. She tried to tease you as best she could while being so horny as well, but soon she gave up on the idea altogether. 

“Fuck, you’re so wet..” Was the last thing she muttered before the heat of her mouth finally pressed up against your cunt making you clench around nothing. She parted your thighs gently and you struggled to stay standing against the tree. Your hands tangled into her hand to find purchase as her tongue lapped at your clit like you were dinner. Not like rations or canned soup you’d typically find lying around in an old grocery store, but a michelin star meal. You were far too expensive for her budget and she was taking advantage of the sample she got. She imagined what it’d be like to have you everyday, to be able to bring you please like this for hours on end. But she was too far gone to really dwell on the thought long before she was wrapping her soft lips around your clit and giving it a suck, making you tug on her roots and rocking your hips against her mouth, grinding your wet cunt against her mouth. She was so warm and you were soaking for her, and it was absolutely perfect.

Sometimes, you had overheard philosophical drunken conversions at the Tipsy Bison. People with flushed cheeks would talk of hatred. That was nothing new; hatred was always common in the world, even before the infection. But hearing someone talk about how hatred is just a negative type of love, now that part stuck with you. You could feel hatred for Ellie while she worked at your cunt, you told yourself. You repeated into your head that hate was unglorified love. Maybe it was desire, too. 

But you struggled to keep that notion in your head as her tongue swirled around you teasingly before not holding back one bit. And before you knew it, you were a goner. Your breaths grew shorter as your climax finally took over, your knees nearly buckling as you let out a loud cry against the release you were feeling. You were violently tugging at her auburn strands, making her moan in return, only sending more shocks through your body as you felt her send warm vibrations through your pussy. 

You nearly forgot how to speak. 

Eventually, you went limp against the tree, and she stood up to hold you close. Your breaths were ragged for a while and the two of you remained silent until she broke it with a soft sigh. 

“I am sorry for being a jerk..I don’t even know what’s wrong with me.” She whispered softly, her breath hitting your neck. 

Finally, you found your voice again, though it was unsteady and quiet. “I just didn’t understand..I still don’t. I thought you hated me.” 

She frowned at that and hugged your tightly, which showed to you that this moment was much more than sexual desire shared between the two of you. “No, I don’t hate you. I’m just an idiot, okay? I was jealous, and I sort of liked you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you ever.”

That made your heart beat just a little faster. “You…like me back?” You asked, needing her to say it just one more time. 

“Yes. I like you too. I swear, I think I’m in love with you the way I’m so obsessed with you. You were always taking up space in my mind..it was driving me insane.” She admitted, and it caused you to lean forward to plant a soft kiss on her lips. Both of your lips were still kiss-swollen and your body was shaking with the after-glow of your orgasm, but this kiss was much more gentle than the previous. It was soft and made you even more weak than her tongue did. Which was saying a lot.

She hugged you tightly, her hands finding purchase at your waist. You thought about getting dressed and going on with patrol, but none of it felt right now. The situation gave you that lapse in routine you needed, and you knew you were probably addicted to the feeling of Ellie’s presence now. Somehow, you couldn’t care less. That was a first.

[deposedefenddeny]

Thinking of sending something to Luigi Mangione in prison? Read this first.

As a way of showing support for Luigi Mangione, much chatter has been going on about contacting or providing for him materially while he is in prison. However, one should be realistic about whether things you could send Mangione would be able to benefit from it, respond to it, or even receive it.

To be explicit: in the federal facility where Mangione is being held, in sending letters, those incarcerated are nominally limited to purchasing at most 40 domestic stamps a week; in receiving books and publications, they are limited to keeping only what can fit in the storage areas of their cells; and in receiving commissary money, they can spend only $360 of it per month.

Therefore, below is a curated list of charitable alternatives towards incarcerated people for what people are sending to Mangione, along with a Charity Navigator rating when applicable. Unless otherwise stated, all programs are limited to the United States of America.

Letters

Letters for Liberation: A prison penpaling collective that runs a public penpal program.

Prison Correspondence Project: A volunteer collective supporting LGBTQ incarcerated people in the USA and Canada, which runs a penpal program; also accepts funds to aid in sending resources and newsletters inside.

Black and Pink (rating): An organization supporting LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS positive incarcerated people, which runs a penpal program; also accepts funds for its various support programs.

Books

Books to Prisoners (rating): Distributes books nationwide; accepts funds, or used books.

LGBT Books to Prisoners (not rated): Distributes books to LGBTQ people nationwide; accepts funds, used books, or online purchases of books through wishlists.

Prison Book Program (rating): Distributes books nationwide; accepts funds, used books, or online purchases of books through wishlists.

Sex Worker Outreach Program Behind Bars: Directory of Amazon wishlists for incarcerated sex workers, trafficking victims, and survivors to purchase books directly for a person.

Women's Prison Book Program (not rated): Distributes books to cisgender and transgender women nationwide; accepts funds, used books, or online purchases of books through wishlists.

Also: check this directory of prison book programs in CA/GB/USA curated by the Prison Book Program to support a local organization more specific to a region (such as the Appalachian Book Project, serving KY, MD, OH, TN, VA, WV).

Commissary funds

The Commissary Fund (no rating): Sends commissary funds to incarcerated people in New York state.

Last Prisoner Project (rating): Among their other programs, sends commissary funds to people incarcerated for cannabis offenses.

Mission [Green] (no rating): Sends commissary funds to people incarcerated for cannabis offenses, in addition to legal advocacy.

Other forms of support

Innocence Project (rating): Criminal justice reform organization working against wrongful convictions.

The Marshall Project (rating): A nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization about the criminal justice system.

National Bail Fund Network (rating): A directory of community-led bail and bond funds throughout the nation, with the option to give to all as a collective through the directory, or pick out a specific local organization to give to.

Prison Math Project (not rated): Connects incarcerated people with mathematicians to support their interest in mathematics by correspondence.

[sarahmackattack]

Philly Biodiversity Zine is LIVE!

Happy Earth Day 2025!

I can finally share a project with you that has been a LONG time coming: The Philly Biodiversity Zine!

Download the zine here!

The goal of this project is to make taking action to protect our local wildlife easy and fun! Each page covers a different theme, like water management, native plants, climate change, and affecting change across your community. I cannot wait to pick up the printed copies and get them distributed!

This project is a collaboration between 6 Philly artists:

Nafeeza Hassan a Philly street artist and graphic designer.

El Toro a Philly street art legend, muralist, and graphic designer

Kait Waldman a Philly illustrator who focuses much of her work on animals

Jean Wei a Philly illustrator who makes SUPER cute illustrations

Sarah Beahm a ... ok, you're sensing a theme maybe, a Philly illustrator! Sarah's work often focuses on Philly iconography, especially our row homes!

and me! A... whatever the heck you call me. Science communicator and enthusiastic doodler, perhaps.

I put a call out on social media for artists back last summer and we've been slowly cooking on this project ever since! Each artist illustrated one spread in the zine, and I wrote the words (and illustrated the back cover).

This project was made possible thanks to generous seed funding from the Biederman Peterson family charitable fund! That donation allowed us to pay each of the artists and print the first 1000 zines. I was hoping to get a bit more funding so I could afford to print more, but unfortunately our grant application got rejected (this has been the theme of 2024 and 2025 unfortunately), so that slowed the process down by a few months. Bummer.

We hope to distribute 3000 zines across the city in the coming months. The printed copies should be ready for pickup in early May! Once they're in hand, I'll start distributing them through little free libraries, library branches, cafes, record shops, and anywhere else with the treasured "pile of free stuff" that the good cafes often have. If you'd like to help us print more, you can do that here!

Check out the zine and support this project so we can print more copies for kids in Philly here!

Hope you all love reading it as much as we loved making it :)

xoxo,

Sarah

[reasonsforhope]

Article

"2023 was a banner year for the Galapagos Islands: that wondrous archipelago so famous for its giant tortoises and other endemic species.

The long-serving conservation organization the Galapagos Conservancy, also endemic to the islands, recently published its annual report featuring standout figures like over 500 giant tortoises of 5 different species reintroduced to their natural habitat.

Additionally, a critically endangered species of albatross was identified to use giant tortoise feeding sites as take-off and landing areas. This key insight into co-dependency has given the Conservancy confidence that they can restore the populations of both animals to stable, flourishing numbers.

It underscores how far a donation to these endemic wildlife organizations really does go, and these two highlights of a successful year were only possible by the over $6 million in charitable contributions from supporters.

30 Chelonoidis chatamensis tortoises endemic to the smaller island of San Cristobal were repatriated to their natural habitat from the stock of a captive breeding program, while 97 native tortoises were returned to the second-largest island of Santa Cruz.

On the largest island of Isabella, 350 tortoises (214 C. guntheri and 136 C. vicina) were successfully reintroduced to their natural habitat after a survey found their numbers were not rising substantially on their own.

In March, the repatriation of 86 juvenile Chelonoidis hoodensis tortoises significantly contributed to enhancing the species’ distribution across their native habitat. They currently number 3,000 today on Española or Hood Island, a miraculous recovery from the 14 found there in the 1960s.

Also on Española, the endemic waved albatross was found to be taking off and landing on 50 additional parts of the island. These large birds, boasting an 8-foot wingspan, need ample space to get a running start before taking off, and this same principle applies when applying the brakes coming down from the sky.

In the survey, the biologists observed that concentrations of giant tortoises were linked with the usage of areas as runways for the albatross. Because the tortoises are the largest herbivores in the ecosystem, they perform the same acts as bison do in North America and Europe, and elephants in Africa—clear space.

With their herbivorous diet and large bulk, the tortoise’s feeding habits produce cleared areas ideal for albatross use.

“This discovery underscores the interconnectedness of the Galápagos ecosystem,” the authors of the report write. “This newly acquired knowledge allows us to strengthen the synergies between our conservation strategies.”

Of the $6.1 million received from donations and through other activities, the Conservancy was able to spend 77% of that on conservation programs, and that included some ambitious plans for this year—now already half done—which included drafting plans for restoration of the Pinta tortoise to the island of the same name, preparing tortoises for imminent reintroduction to the smaller Floreana island, and completely restoring the habitat for the Galapagos petrels on Santa Cruz.

Operating since 1985, the Galapagos Conservancy has a long track record of restoring these islands to their pre-Colombian glory. Let’s hope 2024 is as successful."

-via Good News Network, July 19, 2024

[humming-fly]

North Carolina Relief Masterlist

One of my close friends is currently living in North Carolina and took the time to put together this really nicely organized list of organizations currently taking donations after Hurricane Helene, and I thought it'd be nice to share it on tumblr as well since I know some folks like these kinds of organized lists! All links and descriptions come from her and her experiences with the orgs below. 👍

Foundation

The Community Foundation of WNC - Read no further if you want a catch-all, one stop donation spot for WNC long-term Helene response. CFWNC is a permanent pool of charitable capital for the 18 counties of Western North Carolina including the Qualla Boundary (land of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians). They are an amazing source of consistent support to many WNC nonprofits via grant opportunities. They have financially supported so many of the non-profits I have encountered or worked with. Donate to the cause of your choice via CFWNC (including the Helene response specifically) here.

Food Security, Farm Support & More

Bounty & Soul (Swannanoa Valley, Black Mountain, and Asheville) - decade-old non-profit currently typically focused on health and food insecurity now working in partnership with World Central Kitchen, MANNA, Hearts with Hands, and many others to distribute food, hot meals, and supplies. They are also working to resume purchasing and distributing fresh produce from farmers in WNC who still have crops to harvest and sell. Donate to their disaster relief here.

Annie’s Culinary Garden - I often frequent this small but mighty Black Mountain restaurant, which is closely partnered with Bounty & Soul. Annie’s was already embedded in health and food justice work pre-Helene but the last 2 weeks, Annie and her team have been working around the clock (using a generator to power their restaurant) to provide free vegan, vegetarian, and other diet-specific hot meals to retirement homes, distribution hubs, and also to feed the staff and volunteers at these hubs. This has been a huge need expressed to me by community members because much of the food available at distribution sites is not able to be eaten by those requiring special diets. Donate to their effort here.

Haywood Christian Ministry (Waynesville) - WNC’s largest food pantry has partnered with MANNA (WNC's largest food bank?) and is distributing food on the ground and requesting donations to help with the emergency disaster response. They are also directly purchasing from WNC farms to distribute fresh foods for folks cooking bulk hot meals and for families who can cook at home. For info and to donate, go here. 

Food Connection(Asheville-based) - I first encountered this org at a food waste solutions summit and thought their concept was brilliant. They rescue high-quality, chef-prepared meals and deliver them to neighbors in need (often those who can’t afford to participate regularly in Asheville’s expensive foodie culture). I have since seen them out in Asheville and beyond to rural communities doing exactly what they do best and delivering delicious, no-cost hot meals to Helene victims. Donate to them here.

Foothills Food Hub (McDowell County) - McDowell was hit really hard and this hub is working to source water and shelf-stable goods to distribute. They will continue to feed vulnerable populations and to support farmers with direct purchasing and a reliable market. Requesting monetary donations, which can be made online here.

TRACTOR Food & Farms (Spruce Pine*, Mitchell County) - In another hard-hit county, this hub is also working, much like the Foothills Food Hub, on connecting local farmers with folks in a system of equitable healthy food access in rural communities. Donate to this local food hub here.

*Interesting aside: Spruce Pine and its quartz mines were extremely damaged by flooding and this threatens the global tech industry. This rural town is home to one of the world’s only sources of high-purity quartz. The mines are currently trying to re-open.

MANNA FoodBank (Asheville) - This very large organization is still doing what they do best and distributing food, water, and more, despite having their warehouse/headquarters were destroyed in the flooding along the Swannanoa River. Donate online here.

Farmer Support & Advocacy

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) (WNC) - this wide-reaching farmer advocacy org is currently reestablishing communications with WNC farmers and getting aid to them. They also have healthy food programs that, once operating again, will serve tangentially in the relief effort. I have worked adjacent to this org for the last year and am a dogged cheerleader of them and their work. Donations can be made here.

Center for Environmental Farming Systems (Qualla Boundry and WNC) -  CEFS works closely with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, NC State, extension services and more to support food and farm initiatives across WNC. I previously worked adjacent to this org and was extremely impressed by their commitment and effectiveness. Donate (ideally to “Friends of CEFS” for more flexible funding) here. 

Tierra Fértil Coop (Hendersonville) - social and economic farmer cooperative formed by a group of Hispanic community members living in Henderson County that grows and provides culturally-specific foods but also has community programs to support the Latinx community in Henderson county. I have attended some of their educational events and have worked adjacent to them. I am ever impressed by their work. Donate to them by emailing tierrafertilcoophv@gmail.com.

Economic Justice & More

Pisgah Legal Services (all over WNC) - these folks do just about everything “life admin” for WNC's most vulnerable populations and have done so for over forty years. They provide pro bono civil legal aid, health insurance enrollment, and more. I have worked adjacent to them over the last year and could not be more impressed by their broad scope of bi-lingual legal work that maintains incredible efficiency and effectiveness. Donate to them here. 

Just Economics (WNC) - JE works on shaping the economic development of WNC in a way that benefits everyone and promotes a sustainable future. I have attended some of their workshops and found them to be powerfully educational. I am also grateful for their political advocacy for living wages for all in WNC. They are not directly working on the Helene response (as far as I know), but the road to recovery is long and their economic justice advocacy will be especially crucial as WNC rebuilds. Donate to JE here. 

BeLoved (Asheville) - Org working on improving the well-being and quality of life for individuals, families, and communities through our focus areas of Home, Health, Equity, and Opportunity. On-the-ground volunteers are currently collecting and distributing a wide array of supplies and BeLoved will continue to play a significant long-term role in housing and more. Donate to BeLoved here.

Health Services & Equity

Blue Ridge Health (WNC) - Blue Ridge Health is a federally qualified health center that is continuing to provide accessible & affordable medical care and mental health care to vulnerable populations (now including Helene victims) with their sites around the region and mobile clinics. Donate here.

Vecinos (WNC) - This rapidly growing org provides direct healthcare services to underserved, uninsured communities with a focus on WNC's farmworkers at their clinics and with mobile clinics on site at farms. Donate to their continuing services here. 

Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry (Asheville based) - The ABCCM helps run and provide shelter in Asheville and is partnered with the Red Cross. Donations help pay for motel and food vouchers for local residents and long-term support for those displaced. A personal aside: ABCCM also has an awesome medical clinic serving uninsured folks and they were the only medical service I could find that would treat a tick born illness that I had when I first arrived in the US from Canada (I did not yet have health insurance). To donate to their Helene response, go here.

Schools & Youth

FernLeaf Community Charter School (Fletcher) - FernLeaf was partially destroyed by Helene (one of the school buildings was entirely lifted off of its foundation then dropped several feet away in a truly remarkable display of the power of water from a small nearby creek). Donate to FernLeaf here. 

United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County - The local United Way typically works on youth/child food security, educational support, and physical and mental health care services. The org is helping with immediate natural disaster response and long-term support for flood victims. Donations can be made online here.

Other

Blue Ridge Public Radio - obviously these NPR folks have been working around the clock to keep people informed in the old-fashioned way, over the airwaves. You can support them here.

[asktheritochampion]

How rich are you as a champion? Do you make a lot of rupees from doing this or is it a charitable job? A lot of the champions obviosly live in palaces, but they were rich before becoming champions too so it's hard to tell.

Rito Village functions differently economically to most of the other factions of Hyrule. We do not beleive in the hoarding of wealth, and live as a flock; where we share our resources equally.

I get paid a tremendously large wage from the Princess for my duties, however those rupees do not belong to me. I give them straight to Teba, as does everybody else in the Village with their wages, and he distributes every Rito an equal portion of rupees, and then uses the rest for the maintainence and upkeep of the Village. That is why the Village is always so clean and well kept, and why all Rito have unlimited access to food and healthcare, schooling and clothing. Everyone is given a home, and a modest wage regardless of their working status.

While I beleive strongly in our lifestyle being superior to that of the trickle-down economics of the majority of Hyrule - I'll be the first to admit, I have had my moments of envy in the past.

When I began traveling with the other Champions, I was admittedly still a touch nieve about the econemy around Hyrule along with the prices of things. Once we went for dinner together with the Princess in Gerudo Town and I was mortified when the bill came and it was more than I make in a month - yet all of them behaved as if this was entirely normal and affordable. Humiliatingly I was forced to lie and pretend to have left behind my rupees at the inn, and Urbosa covered me. Not my proudest moment.

I paid her back of course, but I have never eaten at a resteraunt with them since. In fact, I try to avoid any social outings they plan. I dread to think that if they discovered I had what they deemed 'less' than them that they should pity me or something - goddess forbid. However, I also refuse to spend my hard earned savings on their frivolous nonsense simply to keep up an act. Thus I always have a convenient excuse ready and hidden in my feathers for the possibility they spontaniously decide to corner me into some pompous outing.

Honestly, it's just asinine.

[mariacallous]

A week after Harvard University essentially told the Trump Administration to go jump into the Charles River, there are signs that its defiance may be rattling the White House. On Friday, the Times, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, reported that the letter containing the Administration’s demands for a top-to-bottom revamp of Harvard, which even the conservative editorial page of the Wall Street Journal described as “effectively a federal receivership,” was sent without proper authorization. According to the story, the sender was one of the members of the Presidential task force on antisemitism, which is leading the crusade against top research universities. The Times also quoted a White House official, the senior policy strategist May Mailman, who said negotiations between the two sides could still resume.

Whether or not Donald Trump will blink, as he did a couple of weeks ago when his punitive tariff proposals caused eruptions in the stock and bond markets, isn’t entirely clear yet. But it seems like the Administration was taken aback by Harvard’s refusal to buckle before the President’s threats in the same way that Columbia University and certain law firms did. Perhaps some people in the White House now realize that, even as it has halted more than two billion dollars in federal funding to Harvard, it has taken on an adversary that is rich and powerful enough to fight back.

As a tax-exempt not-for-profit, Harvard doesn’t have any shareholders, but, like other big charitable organizations and major corporations, it releases an annual report on its finances. The latest one, which covers its 2024 financial year, said that the university “generated an operating surplus of $45 million on a revenue base of $6.5 billion.” That pot of money was used to finance an institution that encompasses Harvard College, twelve graduate schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. In total, Harvard has close to twenty-five thousand students and employs about twenty thousand people.

Last year, roughly $685 million of Harvard’s funding—about eleven per cent—came from the federal government in research grants and other transfers. That was a large sum, obviously. But about $2.4 billion, more than three times as much, came in distributions from Harvard’s own massive endowment, which was worth $53.2 billion at the end of the year—the largest of any school in the country. “Our financial resources, built over years through disciplined planning and sound financial management, allow Harvard’s schools and units to withstand shocks,” the annual report said. “They also provide the capacity to invest in new programs and pedagogies, fostering the academic excellence that is both Harvard’s hallmark and its aim.”

Trump’s attempt to undermine Harvard’s independence is probably the biggest shock the university has faced since Harvard College was founded, in 1636; shortly after its establishment, the school received a transformative deathbed bequest from the Puritan John Harvard. Federal funding in the second half of the twentieth century helped build up Harvard and other private schools into big research institutions. But élite universities have also gone to great lengths to insure that they have enormous pools of endowment wealth to draw upon. In the past few decades, their riches and tax-free status have attracted attention from critics on the left and the right, who accuse them of prioritizing their endowments over all else, favoring legacy applicants to reward donors, and failing to provide adequate support for their local communities. Politicians in true-blue Cambridge and Boston have long been pushing Harvard to pay more in property taxes; last year, two members of the Massachusetts state legislature proposed a 2.5-per-cent annual excise tax on Harvard’s endowment, with the proceeds to be used to subsidize education for lower and middle-income families.

But now that Trump is shutting off funding, or at least threatening to, at sixty schools, Harvard’s endowment has taken on a new purpose, positioning the school to be the first bulwark against a rapidly advancing front. When Harvard’s lawyers, in a letter responding to the White House’s ultimatums, said that the school was “not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration,” they were basically telling the Administration that they would see it in court, where the university would be able to make a strong case that the government’s actions are illegal. Nevertheless, in order for the university to sustain itself during the lengthy legal battle likely to come, it will need to make up for a big funding gap, and that is where its $53.2-billion war chest comes in. “Harvard’s endowment is not there just to be envied or admired,” Lawrence Summers, the Harvard economist who is a former president of the university and a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, told me. “It’s there to be used, and it is hard to imagine a better use than maintaining the continuity of its operations at a moment of great threat like the present.”

Although John Harvard’s bequest to the school set an early precedent, it wasn’t until the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century that business magnates such as John D. Rockefeller, who helped finance the creation of the University of Chicago, made large gifts to educational institutions a philanthropic tradition. And it wasn’t until 1917 that Congress created tax deductions for individual donations to not-for-profit institutions, such as churches and universities. By 1920, Harvard’s endowment was the biggest in the country, a position it has never relinquished, Bruce Kimball, an emeritus professor of education at Ohio State who is the co-author of the book “Wealth, Cost, and Price in American Higher Education,” told me last week.

For decades, university endowments invested their funds ultraconservatively, mainly through bonds and mortgages. In 1951, however, the treasurer of Harvard, Paul C. Cabot, took the bold step of investing more than half of its money in stocks, which, in the long term, can yield considerably higher returns at the price of higher risk. In the nineteen-nineties, under the direction of David Swensen, who had a Yale Ph.D. in economics and who served a stint at the swashbuckling investment bank Salomon Brothers, the Yale endowment pioneered an even more amped-up strategy, investing in hedge funds, private-equity partnerships, and venture-capital firms. After seeing Yale’s returns race ahead, the Harvard Management Company, an in-house financial firm that handles the university’s endowment, has in recent years adopted the Yale model, both in its asset choices and the vast sums it pays its employees. (The strategy became popular at schools all over the country, from the University of California to Bowdoin College.) As of 2024, more than seventy per cent of the Harvard endowment’s money was held in hedge funds and private equity, with only fourteen per cent directly in stocks and five per cent in bonds. In 2022, according to an analysis of tax filings by Harvard Magazine, Nirmal (Narv) Narvekar, the Harvard Management Company’s chief executive, received $9.6 million in current and deferred compensation, and six of his colleagues received more than four million dollars.

With financial markets having enjoyed a long boom, 2022 apart, the Harvard endowment has generated an average annual return of 9.3 per cent over the past seven years, a figure that is comfortably higher than the returns generated by Vanguard’s global 60/40 index, which tracks the performance of the time-honored investment strategy of amassing a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds. Combined with a flood of new donations from rich alumni and others, the endowment’s high returns have resulted in its value rising from $37.1 billion in 2017 to today’s figure of more than $50 billion. And, in the same period, its annual disbursements to the university have risen from $1.7 billion to $2.4 billion.

Despite these impressive figures, though, lately there has been some confusion about the extent to which Harvard and other universities with big endowments are able to access the large stores of wealth they contain. Facing pressure from students and politicians to use endowments to reduce sky-high tuition fees, university leaders have long emphasized that they largely consist of “restricted” funds that their donors gave to finance professorships, or libraries, or the maintenance of buildings, and which can’t be diverted to other uses. In its annual financial report, Harvard referred to the notion that endowments can be “accessed like checking accounts” as a “common misconception.”

It’s true that a good deal of the endowment’s money is tied up in ambitious projects linked to individual donors. In Allston, the Boston neighborhood that lies directly across the Charles River from Harvard Square, in 2020, Harvard opened a grand new building that houses the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences—Paulson is a hedge-fund billionaire—and later this year it is planning to open a conference center named after the private-equity baron David Rubenstein. Over all, restricted funds make up about eighty per cent of Harvard’s endowment. But it’s hardly strapped for accessible funds: the endowment also contains nearly ten billion dollars in unrestricted donations, which, subject to some legal caveats, the university has more flexibility to utilize.

In addition, Harvard has about two billion dollars of liquid investments, such as Treasury bonds, which are outside of the endowment. Furthermore, it has the ability to raise large sums of money in the credit markets, where it has a top-notch credit rating. Just two weeks ago, on the eve of defying the Trump Administration, it announced that it would issue $750 million in bonds, which is more than the total funding it received from the federal government last year. Although it might seem a bit strange for a university with an endowment worth more than fifty billion dollars to go out and borrow money, the bond issuance was perfectly sensible and is likely to be repeated if the dispute drags on: it enabled Harvard to raise a lot of cash without conducting a fire sale of any of its assets, many of which are illiquid.

In short, Harvard has a number of ways to access and mobilize the wealth in its endowment. Normally, the university’s endowment aims to distribute about five per cent of its over-all portfolio on an annual basis. But, in an emergency, it could almost certainly afford to disburse an extra billion dollars a year, say, until 2028. Depending on what happens in the financial markets, such a move wouldn’t even necessarily involve running down its portfolio, although its growth would be restricted.

To put it another way, Harvard can afford to stand up to Trump, at least for now. (If the halt to federal funding dragged on indefinitely, that would obviously be a different matter.) This surely explains why, in the course of the past week, the President has been escalating his threats and targeting its endowment directly by suggesting in a social-media post that Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status. According to reporting by CNN and the Washington Post, Treasury officials have asked the Internal Revenue Service to act upon this idea. “There is total extralegality here,” Summers pointed out. “In my time, anyone who walked into the Treasury was told that getting involved in the treatment of an individual taxpayer or individual institution was an absolutely forbidden thing—like taking a big bribe. The idea that the President of the United States would give the instruction publicly, and that it would then be acted upon by Treasury officials, would have been unthinkable in any other Administration.”

In the era of Trump 2.0, previously unthinkable things happen every day. (According to Semafor, the Administration is also planning to restrict the investments of big university endowments, Harvard’s included.) To some right-wing activists inside and outside the Administration, bringing the Ivy League to heel is part of a broader project to smash liberalism and realign the country’s values and major institutions on a conservative basis—an American “war of position,” to use the Gramscian phrase. For Trump—a proud graduate of Wharton, even if, according to his estranged niece Mary L. Trump, he got another person to sit for his SAT (an allegation that the White House denied)—the agenda seems personal: punishing institutions that he perceives as political opponents and demanding public acts of submission, in addition to riling up his base and diverting attention from a weakening economy.

In this instance, though, the Administration is not attempting to trample on powerless civil servants or migrants, or pusillanimous law firms, or universities that don’t have as much money as Harvard does. For whatever reason, it has picked on an adversary the likes of which Trump and his billionaire allies can well recognize: one that is as rich as Croesus. For the education sector as a whole, and for the preservation of academic freedom, Kimball pointed out to me, the decision to target Harvard may turn out to be a fortunate miscalculation. “But Harvard also needs friends,” Kimball added. “It needs other schools and other institutions to stand with it.” For institutions that don’t have anything like the financial resources that Harvard does, this may not be an easy option. Still, assuming that Harvard goes ahead with a legal battle to repulse the Administration’s assault, its actions could have important ramifications not just for other universities but also for broader efforts to resist Trump’s encroachments. At a time when many people in higher education, and elsewhere, had been losing hope, that’s a positive development. As hints emerge that the White House may now be looking for Harvard to accept a squalid deal that compromises its independence and affords the President enough concessions for him to declare victory, the leaders of America’s oldest and wealthiest institution of higher learning must stand firm.

[dolphin1812]

M Myriel pretty directly states it, but it was interesting to read this:

"“In case of epidemics,—we have had the typhus fever this year; we had the sweating sickness two years ago, and a hundred patients at times,—we know not what to do.”

“That is the thought which occurred to me.”

“What would you have, Monseigneur?” said the director. “One must resign one’s self.”

This conversation took place in the gallery dining-room on the ground floor."

The distribution of space, as M Myriel points out, defies logic, but it's socially expected because of class differences: the bishop has a mansion for himself and two others while the hospital is overcrowded. It's true that the director couldn't ask Myriel for this space and that Myriel's offer mainly showcases his charitable nature and true commitment to helping his community, even at a personal cost. At the same time, I found the mention of "resignation" fascinating. Myriel isn't only noticing that keeping this much space for himself that he doesn't need when others do and he's responsible for serving them is unjust; he's refusing to accept a problem as unsolvable and to resign himself to the existing system. Myriel, then, is not only distinguished by his charity. He's also hopeful and persistent.

Of course, he can't solve every problem individually (Hugo himself points that out in this chapter). He also isn't calling for systemic change, exactly. For instance, while he indirectly critiques the luxury in which some churchmen live while supposedly serving the poor when switching out his mansion for the hospital, we don't see him directly criticize anyone else here. He's only focusing on his immediate community and his own actions. His charity is also in line with the expected role of a bishop, even if he's especially zealous in fulfilling his duties. Despite that, it's interesting to note that Myriel's hopefulness and persistence in the face of these social issues -- his mindset -- set him apart as much as his values. Although the title of the book leaves a certain impression (as do many of its sadder sections), it's ultimately a hopeful work (we saw this in the preface as well! The novel is needed "so long as" these social problems exist, implying that they could disappear one day). Myriel starts us off by showing the difference that a real commitment to improving the lives of others can have when paired with that hope and willingness to question social norms.

[read-marx-and-lenin]

Hey, you reblogged that post from ‘schoolhater’ about donating to people in Gaza but I really cannot make sense of the argumentation so I thought I would ask you. According to my logic, if Israel is deciding what goes in and out of Gaza, and supplies are incredibly limited, donations that go directly to families in Gaza are not increasing the amount of material goods necessary for survival. Instead this money is firstly causing inflation and secondly causing a redistribution of purchasing power among families. For example, if my donation means that a certain family or initiative can get food and tents on a given day, am I not, by consequence deciding that some other people cannot get those goods? Criminal gangs who intercept donations and sell them at high prices surely can only do this practice in accordance with the inflation which is a consequence of artificial scarcity and external funding. They wouldn’t sell things at prices too high for anyone to buy. I am simply explaining my own way of thinking and I sincerely hope you can explain something to me that I am missing that will make me see that donations of this kind are useful. But ‘schoolhater’’s explanation didn’t make sense to me. Thank you for your work in general!

Did you click the read more link on the post? It addressed all of your questions.

It is unproductive to view donating to individual/family fundraisers as you personally deciding who gets fed and who doesn't, or as you personally contributing to the inflation. schoolhater gave links to resources where you can donate funds to be collectively distributed and made it clear that it was not trying to dissuade people from donating to charitable organizations, but rather trying to dispel the idea that donating to smaller fundraisers does nothing.

The situation in Gaza is dire, there's no denying that. schoolhater simply wanted to explain how direct money donations can help people make it through this crisis on a day-to-day basis, including examples of people it knows who were helped by such donations.

If your definition of a "useful" donation is one which will end the crisis in Gaza, then you won't find one. Donate to help people survive, and organize to help put pressure on Israel and the governments and corporations that support them.

[noirsloth]

God, I love Nora Sakavic. @korakos I love you.

Probably, you think I'll start talking about my favourite characters, her engaging writing or who I feel most connected to.

No, not today. Right now I want to thank Nora for listening and hearing the Ukrainian fans of the All for the game.

Here’s a story. We wanted her books in Ukrainian for YEARS (and yes, even now, during the war, people read and absorb content, for me personally this is one of a few escapes), but the company that had the rights to distribute books to the international market has ruzzian roots and it is impossible to say what percentage of sales could ultimately go to taxes in ruzzia = new missiles in Ukraine. And I said “had”, because Nora heard our fears and desires, and took the rights out, and now she’s directly collaborating with the Ukrainian publishing house - Nebo Booklab Publishing. Moreover, she will donate her royalties to Ukrainian charitable organisations.

And you know, after seeing the biggest kids hospital in Kyiv being attacked a few days ago, it’s the first nice news I’ve had. Praying that we wouldn’t have another strikes to the publishing facilities and less energy outrages, so it’s all goes smoothly for them.

So, my dears, another edition of AFTG awaits us with incredible covers and a bunch of new merch. The release is planned for next year.

[bogusavathepit]

(S4) Medieval Nun

Nuns are women and girls who were religious monastics living together in communities sharing accommodation, meals and the duties required to sustain the complexes to sustain the nunnery. They sleep in a communal dormitory, eat in a communal refectory, and are forbidden to leave the monastery or have private property. They are also expected to relinquish their possessions, and some have their hair cut or tonsured. The rules and lifestyle within a convent or nunnery were very similar to those in a male monastery. Nuns took vows of chastity, renounced worldly goods and devoted themselves to prayer, religious studies and helping society's most needy. Many nuns produced religious literature and music as well as kept and created histographical records and are as much historians as male monks, scholars, etc. are. Nuns spent a lot of time reading, writing, and illustrating devotional books, prayer compendiums, and musical chants. They attend religious services throughout the day, including a midnight service called that could last until almost dawn. They also prayed for the souls of people who donated to the nunnery or convent. Many nuns aren't exempt from performing manual labor, such needlework and weaving in luxury textile industry or embroidering robes and textiles for use in church services. They themselves are expected to wear simple clothing, even those with slightly uncomfortable or itchy fabrics, as a symbol and self-reminder of her shunning of worldly goods and distractions.

Nuns give back to the larger community around their own through charitable work, especially distributing clothes and food to the poor on a daily basis and giving out larger quantities on special anniversaries. Besides giving out alms, nuns often acted as tutors to children, they looked after the sick, helped women in distress and provided hospice services for the dying. Nunneries thus tended to be more closely related to their local communities than male monasteries were and nunneries were often actually part of urban settings and less physically remote places. Nuns are perhaps much more visible to the secular world than their male counterparts.

Go Check it out or Download

[kimgotong]

Last Will and Testament

I, Harvey Langford of ▆▆ ▆▆▆▆▆ Road, ▆▆▆▆▆, ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆, ▆▆▆ ▆▆▆, United Kingdom, revoke all former wills and testamentary dispositions made by me and declare this to be my last will and testament.

1. Declaration of Legal Status

I am unmarried and have no children, biological or adopted. I have no dependents under my care at the time of executing this Will.

2. Appointment of Executor

I appoint John Price as the sole Executor of this Will. If John Price is unable or unwilling to act, I appoint John MacTavish to act as alternate Executor. My Executor shall have full authority to manage, administer, and distribute my estate in accordance with the provisions herein.

3. Bequests and Beneficiaries

3.1 Charitable Donations

I direct that the following donations be made from my estate before any other distributions:

£50,000 to the Combat Stress Foundation

£50,000 to the NSPCC

£50,000 to Mind UK

£25,000 to the Royal British Legion

3.2 Residual Estate and Financial Assets

All monetary accounts, savings, and pensions held in my name and the remainder of my estate, after the above bequests and settlement of debts and taxes, shall be divided equally (50/50) between John Price and John MacTavish.

Should either be deceased at the time of my passing, the other shall inherit the full residual estate.

4. Personal Effects

My personal journals, notebooks, photographs, and letters are to be delivered to MacTavish. He may read or destroy them at his discretion.

My military memorabilia, insignia, medals, commendations, field journals, operational records (excluding classified materials under Official Secrets Act) and service uniforms may be donated to the Regimental Museum of the Special Air Service, with the stipulation that none of my medical or psychological records be disclosed publicly, or returned to Task Force 141 for memorial purposes at the discretion of the Executor.

5. Medical and Psychological Records

While my personal medical and psychological records remain protected under relevant confidentiality laws, I authorize their use in anonymized research for the advancement of medical and psychological care for:

Survivors of childhood abuse

Veterans with PTSD

Individuals suffering from mental disorders

Individuals recovering from head or facial trauma

Permission is granted for release to academic, governmental, or NHS-affiliated research institutions only, provided identifying information is omitted unless required.

6. Burial and Memorial Instructions

I leave the method of body disposition to the discretion of my Executor. I express no preference between cremation or burial. If cremated, the ashes may be kept, scattered, or interred according to the Executor’s judgment.

I request, however, that I be remembered with a grave marker bearing the following:

Name: Harvey Langford

Dates: 1977 – [Year of Death]

Unit: 22nd SAS Regiment – Task Force 141

Epitaph:

If you're reading this, you're still here. That's enough. Keep walking.

The grave is to be located in a military cemetery if possible, or a civilian plot with appropriate discretion and dignity. This is so my comrades may visit and remember.

7. Digital Records and Security

All digital assets, encrypted drives, and online accounts are to be deleted and destroyed, excluding any documentation relevant to MOD or Executor's duties.

8. No Bequest to Family

I intentionally make no provision for my biological parents or extended family in Korea or elsewhere, as all claims to kinship or inheritance are hereby rejected. I instruct my Executor to oppose any claim to my estate by any blood relative not named herein.

9. Final Wishes

Four sealed personal letters have been written by me and entrusted to the Executor, addressed respectively to:

John Price

John MacTavish

Simon Riley

Gary Sanderson

These are to be delivered posthumously, by hand or by secure courier. These letters are not codicils and do not amend the legal contents of this Will.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereby sign this Last Will and Testament, written and executed in accordance with the Wills Act 1837.

Signed: Harvey Langford

Date: 7th July, 2016

Witnessed by:

1. 

Name: Simon Riley

Address: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆ Occupation: British Army Officer

Signature: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Date: 7th July, 2016

2. 

Name: Gary Sanderson

Address: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Occupation: British Army NCO

Signature: ▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆

Date: 7th July, 2016

[horifficspider]

I’ve been doodling Ms Marvel for my spiderverse au cuz I wanted to put her in an animatic I’m working on which has been fun. I was a Ms Marvel fan in middle school so it’s been fun revisiting her character. I did post a little bit about her on my main blog but I decided to change up her mask design from this initial piece I did here.

Here’s a little comic of the twos first meeting (Bethany was overwhelmed)

The lore I have in my head is that Bethany had been operating as Spider-woman for a little less than two years when she crossed paths with a 6 month operating Ms Marvel. At that point Spider-Woman was more of an urban legend to people outside of NYC, hence why Kamala’s reaction here.

The two have occasional crossovers, but for the most part stay in their respective cities. Despite the two not being super far apart in age (Bethany being 18 and Kamala being 15) Bethany tends to worry about the newer hero a good deal and keeps an ear out for what goes on in Jersey City just in case there’s something extremely bad afoot.

Kamala is sort of the closest thing Bethany has to a normal friendship in her dimension, but keeps distant out of a worry that Kamala will get roped into some horrid stuff if the younger hero spends too much time in New York.

On Kamala’s end she thinks it’s cool to have a semi-consistent team up partner, even if Bethany is a little odd. Kamala has yet to see Bethany get particularly nasty (murdering people) so her opinion on the Spider Woman is pretty charitable compared to most people. Bethanys worrying can be a little annoying , but it’s nothing too serious. It’s not like Bethany can really stop her from rushing in to help someone anyways.

They don’t quite have a mentor/mentee relationship it’s more like worried older sibling/impulsive younger sibling.

Random tidbits: a fan-zine is a fan magazine, usually made by amateurs in a local area. Been researching how fanfiction/fandom culture started without the internet since this au takes place in 1985. And while yes people used various forums and newsletters to distribute fanfiction over the internet and from what I remember Kamala’s family were pretty well off. But considering Kamala is a teenager and a youngest child I doubt she’s gonna have a personal computer. Family computer definitely, but not a personal one so how she interacts with fandom in this au is through fanzines, conventions, fan clubs. Y’know more in person stuff.

As for how Kamala is dressed up you may be wondering why I changed her outfit. So her og outfit (from my memory) was a re-purposed burkini, which the first of those were made in 2004. And with the year being 1985, she’s gonna have a different core build for her homemade hero suit.

So I did some research on Pakistani fashion and I found these images from 70s Pakistan and was inspired, especially by the outfit the woman in the chair in the second image is wearing.

So I’m thinking maybe the outfit that became Kamala’s Ms Marvel costume was a hand me down or maybe a gift from her family that still lives in Pakistan that she put a lighting bolt on and now struts her stuff in Jersey City and sometimes New York City.

Though now that I’m re-looking at my inspo images I’m noticing the main shirt/tunic/dress pieces are longer than what I drew Kamala with so I might give her a longer dress (I’m not sure what these articles of clothing are called sorry) part in future drawing of her. I guess Kamala could’ve modified the outfit for more mobility. Also I’m realizing I gave her more of a turtle neck than any of the gals in the photos have. So I’m not super sure on how correct this looks.

But I will experiment and research more into what I’m trying to replicate as I’m not super familiar with Pakistani fashion and culture.

This is just a working design I have right now and hopefully I can improve.

[howtomuslim]

Reviving the Legacy of Waqf: A Forgotten Pillar of The Islamic Economy

In Islamic history, the waqf (plural: awqaf) represents a tradition that underpinned the development of Muslim societies. A practice rooted in faith and generosity, waqf was a system of endowments that provided cradle-to-grave support for communities, funding hospitals, schools, mosques, and even public infrastructure. Today, there is a renewed call to revive this practice, after it’s demise during the colonisation of Muslim lands, not only to sustain the Muslim community but to empower it to tackle modern challenges strategically.

The Concept of Waqf: A Gift for Eternity

At its core, waqf refers to the restriction of an asset for perpetual charitable use. Once designated as waqf, ownership of the asset is transferred to Allah, and its benefits are dedicated to the community. Unlike other forms of charity, such as zakat or sadaqah, waqf assets remain preserved, continuously generating benefits for specified causes. For instance, a piece of land could be endowed as a waqf to fund education, with rental income supporting schools indefinitely.

This system offers a unique form of sustainability, ensuring that the initial act of giving continues to yield rewards and benefits long after the donor’s lifetime. As the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “When a person dies, their deeds come to an end except for three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, and a righteous child who prays for them.” Waqf embodies this concept of ongoing charity.

Historical Significance of Waqf

The origins of waqf trace back to the Prophet’s time. One of the earliest examples is the endowment of a date orchard by a Companion, Abu Talhah, after the Quranic verse, “You will not attain righteousness until you spend from what you love” (3:92). The Prophet advised him to dedicate the orchard as a waqf, benefiting his family and the broader community, even today.

Over the centuries, awqaf played a critical role in Islamic civilisation. Universities like Al-Qarawiyyin and Al-Azhar, renowned as the oldest in the world, were funded through waqf. In the Ottoman era, the system became so robust that it supported individuals from birth to death. Hospitals, schools, mosques, and even coffins were funded through awqaf, showcasing its comprehensive impact.

Ibn Battuta, the famed traveler, marvelled at the diversity of awqaf during his visits to Damascus, where endowments funded everything from animal care to bridal jewellery for underprivileged women. Such was the creativity and scope of waqf that it became a model emulated by Western institutions like Oxford University, which built its endowment structure inspired by Islamic waqf practices.

The Decline During Colonialism

The systematic dismantling of waqf institutions began during colonial rule in the 18th and 19th centuries. Colonial powers recognized the financial independence and societal cohesion that awqaf provided to Muslim communities and sought to centralise control. In India, for instance, the British enacted the Waqf Act of 1861, seizing control of waqf boards and redirecting funds for colonial purposes. Similar strategies were employed in Algeria and other regions, leading to the decline of waqf and its institutions.

This loss of autonomy marked the beginning of a dependency on centralised state systems for services once provided by waqf. The transition undermined the sustainability and empowerment that the decentralised waqf system offered which catered to local needs and provided for those in need despite weak, oppressive or ineffectual governments.

Reviving Waqf in Modern Contexts

Today, organisations like the National Waqf are working to revive this forgotten tradition. The vision is to reintroduce waqf as a means of sustainable financing for community development. Modern waqf structures focus on pooling donations to invest in income-generating assets, such as properties. The returns are then distributed to fund causes like education, healthcare, environmental initiatives, and political advocacy.

For example, a donated property can be rented out, with proceeds reinvested into the waqf and/or used to support community projects. This model ensures that even small contributions can create long-term impact. A single donation grows perpetually, multiplying its benefits over generations.

Strategic Giving for a Better Future

Reviving waqf is not just about sustaining existing institutions; it is about empowering communities. By strategically allocating funds, waqf can address systemic issues like poverty, education inequality, and even political advocacy. For instance, a dedicated waqf could fund legal initiatives to defend marginalised communities or support organisations lobbying for global justice.

A Call to Action

This is a call for Muslims to shift their mindset from short-term charity to long-term sustainability. By investing in waqf, donors ensure their contributions continue to grow, benefiting countless lives and leaving a lasting legacy.

The revival of waqf is not merely a return to tradition; it is a bold step toward empowering Muslim communities to thrive in the modern world. As we rebuild this forgotten pillar of Islamic civilisation, we unlock the potential to create a future that reflects the best of our faith and values.

For more about Islam visit: https://www.howtomuslim.org

Islamic Resources: https://www.howtomuslim.org/catalogue

Why Islam: https://www.howtomuslim.org/why-islam

Who was Prophet Muhammed (PBUH): https://www.howtomuslim.org/prophet-muhammed

[bluerhapsodist]

The Disciples of the Whills first came into being on the moon of Jedha, honored by the arrival of Jedi Knights who came to gather kyber crystals from the planet to use in their lightsabers. While their counterparts, the Guardians of the Whills, arose to protect the Temple of the Kyber from thieves and train like the Jedi themselves without drawing on the Force, the first Disciples saw themselves as caretakers and scholars, studying Jedi lore to apply in their daily lives. Even with the eradication of the Jedi and the rise of the Empire, the Disciples did not lose their practice, but went underground and kept the memory of their heroes alive for the next generation.

A Disciple’s Circle is a gathering of the Disciple of the Whills. They come together at the end of each week to recite the Jedi Code, to pray and meditate on the Force, and to deliver food and clothing to those in need. The Circle appoints a different lector each week to read from the Jedi texts, organize prayers and songs, and oversee the distribution of charitable offerings.

The Heart’s Fire robe is the public attire of a Disciple of the Whill. It is made from homespun fibers and dyed a shade of crimson to represent the Jedi as the “heart” of the Force in action. Disciples see their robes as not only a sign of devotion to the Force, but as a sign to others that they are available for help if called upon.

The breviary is a holobook carried by the Disciples when attending a Circle and kept at home. Each holobook contains a copy of the Jedi Code, the Guardian’s Mantra, other ancient scriptures, and a collection of prayers and hymns.

The Four Pillars of the Disciples of the Whills are meditating on the will of the Force, collecting alms to give to the poor, rendering aid to those in need, and not giving into the “three poisons” of fear, anger, and aggression.

A pilgrimage is a sacred undertaking that each Disciple hopes to fulfill within their lifetime (provided current events and galactic wars permit them to do so). There are five major sites across the galaxy where a Disciple might travel and offer their aid in preserving: the Crystal Caves of Ilum, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Temple of the Kyber on Jedha, the Old Ruins of Ossus, and the Warriors’ Memorial on Ruusan.

Kyber crystals are seen as sacred extensions of the Living Force. Many Disciples wear them in pendants around their necks or as a charm bracelet. Disciples will often pass on a kyber charm to their children when they come of age, to safeguard them on their journeys through life. Later on, hiding them from Imperial Inquisitors and stormtroopers becomes key to the Disciples’ survival.

Jedi lightsabers and artifacts are treated with great care when they come into the Disciples’ possession. Some make an effort to return these items to the original owner if they still live and can be found. Others bring them to a Guardian of the Whills to safeguard them. The Disciples have dealt with some beings in their ranks who attempted to turn a profit on the black market or claim these prizes for themselves.

Life events celebrated by the Disciples of the Whills include births, weddings, and funerals. They also celebrate the departure and return of pilgrims. At birth, children are consecrated to the path of the Whills through a ceremonial blanket swaddling and baptism. When they come of age, a full Disciple receives a kyber charm from their family or mentor, and they vow before their Circle to honor the Jedi Code and the Four Pillars of their faith.