Greening The Beige

Back in August, I made what I call the 5% pledge. I would donate 5% of my time and money to causes that I found worthwhile.

Since then, I adopted a dog who had been abused by his original owner, then dognapped, then abandoned in a kennel for seven months, and then brought to live at an office in Cao Chang Di. You could in a way say that taking care of Bacon has filled way more than 5% of my time, and cost a good chunk of money as well.

But even though having Bacon has eaten up a great deal of my free time, I still want to volunteer for meaningful causes. I just have to find the right opportunities. Either way, I can still donate money.

Which is why I recently donated to Greening The Beige, a Beijing-based, eco-minded arts collective and not-for-profit community network dedicated to nurturing awareness of environmental issues. In a developing city such as Beijing, sometimes the most important thing you can do is educate residents about what they can do to make a difference.

I made my donation as part of their Indy Go-Go fundraiser project. The deadline has passed, but you can still contribute to GtB, either with a cash donation or by participating in one of their upcoming events.

Visit their website to learn more.

And even if GtB isn’t for you, think about making the 5% pledge yourself.

Here’s a photo of Bacon, so you know how cute he is:

Check out Decater's new novel, available now at Amazon. Plus, don't forget his earlier books: Ahab's Adventures in Wonderland and Picasso Painted Dinosaurs.