First, let me say that the lupus walk is Saturday and I’m about halfway to my goal. If you feel so inclined, please donate to the cause, which is important to me personally, and probably to someone you know. Lupus is really not uncommon.

I also wanted to talk a little bit about philanthropic giving. Awhile back I basically resolved to start donating money to causes that seem positive to me as soon as I was asked. What I realized is that when I’m asked to give a donation, if I don’t donate immediately I generally do not donate at all. Even if I fully intend to go back and make a donation, I rarely seem to follow through.

So of late I’ve tried to pull the trigger right then if I feel moved by the request at all. I know some people plan out their charitable giving very carefully, but I’m not one of them. So I have tried to be more “impulsive” in my giving.

I would also note that people in the fund raising business seem to understand this all too well. That’s why they want you to give immediately rather than waiting to think about it. I guess I’ve decided to just go along with them.

Update: Have to admit I’m sort of overwhelmed by everybody’s generosity. Now I can never say no when anyone makes a personal request for a donation, ever.

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be getting up on a Saturday morning to participate in the Lupus Walk. I participated last year as well, but I didn’t do any fund raising, which kind of defeats the purpose.

My brother in law has lupus as does one of my coworkers, and it’s a really, really crappy disease to have. I also have a neighbor who’s confined to a wheelchair due to lupus, so I worry about the future that other people with lupus face.

My coworker with lupus tells me that she supports the Alliance for Lupus Research because they spend almost all of their money on research. All donations by Lupus Walk sponsors will be dedicated to funding research.

The autoimmune disorders get a lot less attention than the other big name diseases (cancer, HIV, etc), but there are an awful lot of people who have them and they seem to be underfunded in terms of medical research. Most autoimmune disorders have no cure, and the main treatment is “take prednisone.” So any progress made in finding the cause of lupus or in treating it would be huge. The ALR has an FAQ with a lot more information about lupus.

Anyway, if you’d be willing to donate, I have a donor page set up. Thanks in advance for helping out.