John Green Week would not be complete without discussing Nerdfighteria’s charitable work. One of the greatest things about Nerdfighteria is its commitment to decrease world suck. What is world suck you ask? Check out this Nerdfighter FAQ video to get the official answer:
Now that you’re familiar with world suck, you might wonder how you can help to decrease it. These are a few of the many ways in which nerdfighters work together to decrease suck levels, but truly any charitable work you can do makes a difference.
The Project for Awesome
The Project for Awesome is a yearly YouTube event in which vloggers create videos supporting charities. The most recent Project for Awesome just concluded and raised over $70,000 in one weekend. You can still check out the P4A page to see tons of wonderful videos and donate to the Foundation to Decrease World Suck. All money donated to the Foundation goes directly to charity–there is no overhead cost, there are no salaries, and there are no mailings of address labels and other things that might suck up money that could otherwise be actually doing stuff out in the world.
This Star Won’t Go Out
Esther Earl was a nerdfighter who passed away at 16. Cancer took away Esther’s life far too early, but her family has remained committed to helping the families of other children with cancer through the This Star Won’t Go Out Foundation. Though The Fault in Our Stars is not about Esther, John Green dedicated the book to her. You can donate to TSWGO through the Foundation’s page or by purchasing a TSWGO bracelet from DFTBA Records.
Kiva
Kiva is a non-profit that relies on loans to finance entrepreneurs around the world. The Nerdfighter lending team has raised over $150,000. The wonderful thing about Kiva is that you can put money in and almost always get it back….after somebody has done something awesome with it. You choose what businesses your money supports and when the business has made the money back your loan is returned.
water.org
Water.org is committed to providing safe drinking water around the world. Nerdfighters have already built a well in Haiti. You can see videos about Hank’s work with water.org here, here, and here. It’s been wonderful to continue following the progress of the well and the people of Savann Tabak who have used it over the last year.
These are just a few of the hundreds of charities supported by Nerdfighteria. What are your favorite charities? Share some info about charities you support and how others can help you decrease world suck this year.
