‘Tis the Season to Make Donations

No, I’m not talking about my mixed games dabbling. At least in the United States, December 31st is the deadline for making charitable donations that you can write off against your 2011 income. That means that the government is functionally matching some portion of your donation. What poker player doesn’t love overlay?

I know this has been a rough year for online poker players everywhere and especially in the US, but let’s keep it in perspective. As my grandmother once told me, “There’s always someone worse off than you.”

The organization closest to my heart is the Boston Debate League, a nonprofit that I founded seven years ago. The BDL now serves thousands of students in thirteen of the city’s public high schools. We (I’m still on the Advisory Council, though admittedly spending the better part of this year outside of the country made it difficult to participate actively) help schools to start competitive after-school debate teams, organize citywide competitions, and train teachers to use debate as a teaching tool in their classrooms.

Debate can have a powerful influence on kids who are not doing well in school. It’s engaging in a way that their usual schoolwork may not be, and it encourages independent, critical thinking. Urban students who debate are 42% more likely to graduate from high school than their non-debating counterparts. A single year of debate increases a student’s reading level by an average of 2-3 grades.

It’s a very effective, and cost-effective, way to address one of our country’s most pressing problems. Your contribution would enable the BDL to bring this incredibly valuable activity to more students. If you believe that all of the free information I provide on this blog has helped to make you some money this year, please kick a piece of that back to this organization that is very important to me. And please leave a comment so I’ll know! I promise it will warm my heart.

You can donate online at http://www.bostondebate.org/give. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about the organization, or you can learn by browsing the website.

Thanks!