With the economy hitting everybody’s wallets hard, how can we still help the animals without breaking the bank? So many people want to help, but don’t know how on a budget.
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While even the smallest donation is always needed and appreciated (that’s right, that $5 you give us goes a long way), there are still so many things that you can do to help the critters! Here are a few tips and tricks that you can follow to ensure that you can still do your part to help and give back!
- Don’t just search, GoodSearch! GoodSearch is a search engine which donates 50% of its revenue to the charities and schools designated by its users. Simply go to www.goodsearch.com, select the charity of your choice, and start clicking!
- Leave that baby alone! Did you know that many times, when you see a baby animal in the wild it is not orphaned or abandoned? Its mother merely went to find some food! While it is human nature to want to help what appears to be a baby in distress, taking it away from its mm can do more harm than good. Unless the baby appears to be in immediate danger from a predator, car, bad location, or appears physically ill, its best chances of survival is in the care of its mother.
- Only buy shade-grown coffee. Ok, ok, this one does cost money — but if you are planning on buying coffee anyway, try to buy shade-grown coffee. Coffee that isn’t shade-grown often comes from coffee farms that are destroying the natural habitat of wildlife. The population of songbirds in North and South America has declined significantly due to coffee plantations. Shade-grown coffee is grown around the trees, so the wildlife is not disturbed.
- Avoid buying products that contain palm oil. Palm oil is a rapidly growing commodity being used in commercial products, mostly food product, because it is cheap and contains no trans-fat. Aside from the fact that palm oil, while having no trans-fat, is ripe with saturated fat, the increasing production of palm oil is destroying the rain forest, and the inhabitants within it. The orangutan population especially has been affected by the mass-expansion of oil palm plantations. It is estimated that if the production of palm oil maintains, or increases, at its current rate orangutans could face extinction within 10 years.
- Sign up for Born Free USA’s Action Alerts! Want to stay abreast of the top ways that you can help Born Free with our key issues? Sign-up to receive our free action alert emails. This will allow you to know which important issues are current, and how you can help!
Blogging off,
Jessica