To Help Relief Efforts By Charities

There has been much weather related devastation in the United States from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, with Texas, Louisiana, Florida,* Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands** having suffered.  Other areas of the Caribbean have also suffered, and Mexico has been hit by both a hurricane (Katia) and a major earthquake. If you would like to help by donating, before doing so, it's a good idea to check sites like Charity Watch or Charity Navigator to try to avoid scams. Remember, ruthless scammers will try to rake in big bucks from these emergency situations. Wherever there is money, the scammers will be there too. Some charities are international, if you want to help people in various parts of the areas affected.  

Also, we want the largest part of our contributions to go directly to helping people in need, not to helping a few line their pockets with our money and at the expense of people who need help. And  PLEASE don't let any prejudices or resentments keep you from donating. Whatever religious faith is trying to provide help to others (Catholic, Orthodox, various Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or whatever), as long as they check out as valid and recommended charities, they are deserving of your support, as are many other civic charities. There are many WONDERFUL people in all sorts of charitable organizations.

* Florida is being hit by Hurricane Irma as I write this. Georgia is likely to suffer damage, along with possibly some other states.

** Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are both U.S. territories, whose people are American citizens.

WORD HISTORY:
Charity-This word seems to go back to an expanded form of Indo European "kah," as "kahro," which had the idea of "to desire, to want, to wish." This gave Latin the adjective "carus," which meant, "dear;" meaning both "beloved," but also, "expensive." This then gave Latin the noun "caritas," meaning, "costliness, value, dearness" (with the further Christian religious extension of, "love and kindness toward mankind"). Old French, a Latin-based language had the word as "charité," which meant, "Christian alms;" that is, "giving aid to those in need." English borrowed the word circa 1150, at first as, "charite," before the modern spelling.