I have donated to the following organizations in the past. Please consider donating to them if their causes appeal to you. Thank you!
AID India: You can read about some amazing initiatives of AID (Association for India’s Development) to prevent farmer suicide in India. It is estimated that each day, about 40 farmers commit suicide in India, due to a various reasons, including economic policy, GM crops, drought, debt, etc. Click here to donate to AID India’s Farmers Fund.
Sankara Nethralaya: Sankara Nethralaya is a not-for-profit opthalmic, i.e., eye hospital, that provides care for over 1500 patients a day. As an operations management scholar, reading about eye surgeries akin to an assembly line, with a focus on operational efficiency and low variable costs was interesting (it might be fun to discuss this case in an MBA classroom, say, in a module on activity-based costing). Click here to donate to Sankara Nethralaya’s various initiatives, incl. sponsoring a catarct surgery.
SVK Temple: A temple close to my home, that distributes free food every night. I visit the temple also as an opportunity to meditate once a week (month?), and for their October kutcheris.
Akshaya Patra: Akshaya Patra feeds underprivileged children in India to help them stay at school, instead of dropping out to participate in the labor force (as child labor). My first exposure to Operations Research was through a paper on vehicle routing to help Akshaya Patra better route their food-vans to various schools in Bangalore.
Charity Through My Employer
Valley of the Sun United: Through my employer ASU, I participate in ASU’s Pledge every year. VSU focuses on multiple issues, including housing and homelessness. In the last few years, Arizona has seen the largest increase in homelessness in the US. Click here to donate.
Dr. John Konopka Memorial Scholarship: Dr. Konopka was my colleague in my department, and one of the members of our afternoon coffee-runs. The scholarship supports students at the W.P. Carey School of Business. I donate to this scholarship in his memory.
Charity Through Running
I recently started to do more short- and medium-distance races (follow me on Strava) Several of these races are organized to support charity.
Ryan House: Ryan House is an organization that supports families with a child facing end-of-life, and provide pediatric end-of-life care, among other services. They organize a run in Mesa every year called Run for Ryan House (usually in the first Sunday of November) that I participate in.
Pat Tillman Foundation: The City of Tempe and ASU organize the Pat Tillman 4.2 mile run every year in April, to raise funds for the Pat Tillman Foundation, that supports the scholars with educational funds, among others. I donate to this organization via the run.
Tempe Shelter Dog Dash: The City of Tempe organizes a 5k run every April to raise funds for the dog shelters in Maricopa county. While the organization of the run is a hit-or-miss, I support the cause. If you are from Tempe (or from the greater Phoenix region), the run is organized near the Kiwanis Park/Lake, and is a pleasant place to run. I try to get sub-25 minutes each time I run.
Ironman Foundation: The Ironman Foundation is a popular charity in the US that organizes many humanitarian relief efforts. My MBA students organize a student-faculty sprint triathlon (5k run, 12k bike, 0.75k swim), through which I have donated to this organization in the past. I hope they continue this tradition of the sprint triathlon and the fundraiser.