Amy sent me this Advent Conspiracy video on YouTube, saying that it reminded her of my blogging for Blood:Water Mission.

The other day, EP wrote about Mocha Club, which I found worthwhile, so I’m gonna soapbox a bit.

Let’s quote EP:

• $7 can feed a family of four in Kenya for one month. I can’t eat at McDonald’s with my family for a single meal for $7.
• $7 can provide malaria medicine to literally save a human being’s life from the threat of disease-carrying mosquitoes.
• $7 can enable the digging of fresh-water wells in Sudan.
• $7 can go to educate former child-soldiers in Zimbabwe for a one-year school term.
• $7 can help fund an orphanage of 400 children that have fled as orphans, as well as provide care and rehabilitation for former sex slaves in the war-torn region of Darfur.

Look, Starbucks (RED) is a great effort. Fantastic. I applaud them. But just as the Advent Conspiracy folks, in naming it “conspiracy” and working to drive buzz with that, I feel like I’m being marketed to. Would I be sure to drop by the ‘bucks tomorrow if I regularly consumed their stuff? Bet your ass. Am I making a special trip to get them to give Africans in need a few cents? Nope. I’d rather support Mocha Club—not a profit redistribution, but an expense redistribution.