American Foundation for Children with Aids (AFCA)

One day in the past month, a couple members of DisGraceland gave up their evening to help someone else. Brennan Brackbill, aka Chief Enforcer, aka Beanie Guy, and yours truly, the Grizzled Vet, loaded 70 single beds and 40 mattresses to be shipped to a hospital that is being built in Africa. This hospital is the epitome of a neighborhood project. Every house in the village is helping to build it. They are responsible for making the bricks for the walls, making the walls, putting the roof on, everything. What they don't have is what goes inside; that's where AFCA comes in.

AFCA is focused on helping children in Africa who have contracted AIDS from their mothers. AFCA has partnered with hospitals in the affected areas and provides anti-retroviral medicine, proper nutrition, and other medical supplies for the children.

AFCA is an international charity that is headquartered in Harrisburg. Several local hospitals donate medical supplies, from hospital beds to gauze pads. AFCA separates, catagorizes, boxes and ships this equipment, by the container load, to partner hospitals in East Africa. All of the work for the organization is done by volunteers.

I'm a skeptical curmudgeon. When I hear a pitch for a charity I want to know how much of my money goes to the people that the charity serves and how much goes to "administrative" costs. I'm not naive, I know that some of my donation goes to pay the people who work for the charity. I just want the majority of my donation to go to the cause of the charity. The Better Business Bureau recommends that administrative costs for a non profit not exceed 35%. The United Way's administrative costs average between 15-18%. AFCA's administrative costs are 1%! They use an additional 5% for fundraising, which means that 94% of all donations go directly to helping children suffering from AIDS. The only charity that I know that has a better rate than that is the Marine Corp Toys for Tots. AFCA's latest IRS form 990 is on their website, if you're a skeptical curmudgeon like me.

If anyone wants to know more about this organization, feel free to contact me on facebook or by email, and I can put you in touch with the Executive Director of AFCA. Don't let the title fool you, Tanya is down in the warehouse sorting medical supplies with the rest of us on volunteer work days.

I know that times are tight for a lot of people. If you are in a position to give, you can donate by clicking the button/banner below. You can donate any amount, from $1 - $10,000. They even tell you what that dollar amount will give to a child. All contributions are tax-deductible.

If you aren't in a position to give, consider donating some time with us on our work party days. More hands make for light work and a much more enjoyable working day.

We are thinking of doing a group outing for AFCA in the future, if you're interested please contact me.

Thanks for reading
GV