How Charitable Giving Became Part of My Businesss
Back when I first started my business, I came across another service provider’s website that said 10% of their profit was donated to their favorite charities.
I loved that.
It felt like such a powerful way to align business with values, and I knew I wanted to do something similar to give back.
How I Chose Where to Give
At the time, I didn’t just want to give here and there. I wanted to give intentionally and consistently. So I researched organizations where the largest percentage of donations went directly to programs instead of admin costs. That’s how I found Help the Helpless.
I’ll be honest, the name has never been my favorite. It feels a bit disempowering, and it’s also a Catholic mission, which isn’t part of my own personal practice. But the impact they create is undeniable. Their programs provide food, education, and medical care to families in Ecuador and India.
So I started sponsoring one family in Ecuador (sponsored families get a monthly basket with food + household items), then a child (sponsored children get access to school and meals). And currently, thanks to you and Simplify VA’s growth, multiple children and multiple families are sponsored each month.
Every Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, I receive letters sharing updates about soccer camp, new school shoes, or roof repairs made possible by what, to me, feels like a modest donation. It’s such a treat to read those letters and see the kids’ personalities come through.
Seeing The Impact In Person
In one of the mailings, there was a newsletter blurb about how visitors are welcome at the locations they serve. I got in touch with Teresa and coordinated a place and time to meet with two of the nuns who perform the work in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Then, in May 2022, I traveled to Guayaquil with my sister, and we had the chance to see their impact in person. With the nuns as our guides, we visited one of the schools where sponsored children can get an education — and, for many, their only full meal of the day.
We brought lollipops (the kind with bubble gum inside) for the classroom we visited, and you wouldn’t believe how excited the kids were. One little girl hugged me and asked if she could please have another one to give to her sister. That moment will stay with me forever.
We were also invited to visit the homes of a couple of sponsored families. I’ll never forget meeting a blind, bedridden woman with the brightest smile on her face as she talked about how the Lord takes care of her and has blessed her with a loving family and strength.
That visit changed me. I’m much slower now to complain about things that, in reality, are lucky problems to have. Of course, we’re all allowed to be seen in our feelings and struggles, but I’m always reminded that someone else might just love to have my “problems”.
Giving Back at Home in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is full of beauty and wonder – the warmth of the people, the culture, the insanely cool mountains, landscapes, and wildlife.
But like anywhere, it also has its challenges. One of them is animal welfare. There’s little to no government funding for rescue groups, and overpopulation is a real issue. If you’ve ever visited, you’ve probably noticed you don’t have to walk or drive far before seeing stray animals on the street.
I’ve tried to do what I can. My two cats, Toño + Travieso, and two dogs, Lily + Canela, are all rescues I scooped up, and I’ve fostered two litters of abandoned puppies. But it never feels like enough to make an impact alone.
Thankfully, there are incredible local organizations doing life-changing work on limited resources. Most of them run entirely on donations, and even $40 can fund a spay or neuter surgery to help prevent future suffering at the source.
The Animal Rescue Groups I Support in Costa Rica
If you’re interested in supporting these wonderful organizations, there are a couple that can receive donations from outside Costa Rica:
I don’t think the other groups have a way of accepting donations outside of CR, but you can still check out the work they do below:
Each of these groups is run by people with big hearts, who do so much with the limited donations they receive.
Why I’m Sharing This
Talking about charitable giving can feel uncomfortable. It can sound like self-congratulation when it’s really about stewardship. But I also know I wouldn’t be giving the way I do if I hadn’t seen that one service provider mention it years ago.
That’s the ripple effect.
So if you’re feeling called to give back and you’re in a position to do so, I hope you follow that pull. We’re truly fortunate to be able to run businesses that not only support ourselves and our families but also create real change for others.
And to me, that’s the best kind of success there is.