When disaster hits close to home, it reminds me of how lucky I am to have things to call “mine.”  I’m not just talking about my family, my friends, my apartment, but even the things I don’t normally equate with personal possessions; the sidewalk, the Cuban sandwich shop down the street, the Comcast technician who comes to my home when just a phone call wont suffice.

Obviously I don’t own stock in any of these things, but I have access to pretty much everything I could ever need, and I’m fairly certain that everyone reading this could say the same. Grocery stores, public transportation, healthcare; you name it, we have it.  Even if you don’t have healthcare, you can find places to receive medical attention. Yes, you’ll be riddled with debt until the day you die, but at least for the moment being, you’re alive.

It’s obvious that in an exhaustingly roundabout way, I’m talking about donating to help relief efforts in Haiti. Money may not be able to buy love, but it can certainly buy the people of Haiti food, medicine, shelter, and anything else they need to survive.

Think of it this way; instead of using your spare change to buy 40s or lottery tickets, resist the temptation.  Remove your hand from that change jar, slap yourself across the face, and remind yourself that you have a change jar, and you have a corner store selling water, and booze, and candy.

Unclench that twenty-dollar bill in the palm of your hand, and do something with it quick before you have time to rethink anything. There are a bunch of ways you can do this, and I’m not going to beat you over the head anymore than I already have, by listing all of the ways to donate.

What I am going to do is tell you about one awesome way to give back.  YouSwoop, the ChiGuide’s sister site (duh), is offering a great deal this Friday, throughout the weekend, on tickets to see the Bulls. There are two nights to chose from (2/2 and 2/16), and 100-percent of YouSwoop’s proceeds will be donated directly to UNICEF. Remember the 20 bucks burning a hole in your pocket? Why not spend it on a night at the Bulls game, all the while feeling the sweet satisfaction of giving back.

The terms “donation” and “more-bang-for-your-buck” don’t normally belong in the same sentence together, but I think it just might be appropriate in this context. Some people might consider this to be selfish, the idea of giving back just to get something out of it. To these people, I say, a donation is a donation. Any way you wrap it up, any way you count it, if your money is going to help someone who really needs it, that’s all that matters.