Build Your Vocabulary and Feed the Hungry
October 27, 2007 by Lillie
Thanks to a recent post at One Step Forward, I’ve discovered Free Rice.
The site offers a vocabulary quiz, requiring you to click on one of four definitions for the word given. The degree of difficulty of the words you are asked is determined by your answers. If you miss an answer, you are given words at the next lower level of difficulty. If you get three right answers in a row, you move to the next level of difficulty. This is a fun and innovative way to increase your vocabulary.
But there’s an added benefit: for every right answer you give, Free Rice will donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. Ten grains doesn’t sound like much, but if thousands of people participate, the amount of rice grows rapidly. Free Rice started October 7th and has already donated nearly 300 million grains of rice. The rice is paid for by advertisers on the site.
The Hunger Site has been online since 1999 and has raised more than 500 million cups of food. The donations go to Mercy Corps and America’s Second Harvest. All you have to do to donate a cup of food is to click on a link, and advertisers contribute the cost of the food. On the same site, you can click to donate for other causes: breast cancer, children’s health, literacy (a favorite of mine as a writer and reader), rainforest, and animal rescue.
Several years ago, I wrote an article about click-to-give Web sites. Many sites have come and gone through the years, but this advice from that article is still sound:
As with offline charities, you need to do a little research to determine which charitable sites to frequent. First, you want to be sure the money is going to a cause and an organization you support. The button may say “click to help children” or “click to fight cancer,” but you may have delve a little deeper to find exactly which organizations receive the funds. The best sites include detailed information about each organization that receives support, so take a few minutes the first time you visit to ensure that you agree with the group’s philosophy.
With Free Rice , you can help feed the hungry, have some fun, and increase your own vocabulary – surely worth a few minutes of your time.
[tags]Free Rice, charity Web sites, vocabulary[/tags]
My vocabulary is good but i don’t speak well, i constantly stutter and things like that. Anyway its a good cause i hope we feed the poor and stop starvation.
Rami
Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog! I played and also gave you a shout so maybe a few more will find out about Free Rice.
I am a newbie mom blogger who happened to visit your site through a link which my son sent me about the 101s of blogging. You have an interesting and inspiring site which shares not only about writing and editing but more importantly, life itself. I will visit your site often.
Surely, I will test my vocabulary to be able to contribute to UN’s feeding program.
Hey, thanks for the mention. I’m so glad to see that the site getting more attention!
Hi Lillie, the site my son gave me was problogger.com which linked to secretcookies.com with a D-list article with a linke
to your site. It’s a pleasure noting that you’ve just dropped by my site.
Hi, Lillie!
Thanks for that great info! I didn’t know about The Hunger Site and all the good that one click can do there for so many different causes–particularly if done daily!
I remember reading your article a while back on how to become a philanthropist without any money. Great piece with the potential to do a great deal of good!
Jeanne
Interesting concept, playing a game for rice donations. I like it, thanks for the link
This is very interesting. Simple idea but I really like the concept of it. If everyone will play the game I’m sure people who got problem with their meal/rice will somehow be solved. I never heard of the hunger site before, I will visit the site later.
Thanks,
Leah
Leah,
I get busy and forget to visit these sites so your comment is a good reminder to me! Thanks.
I just came across your website and think its really cool, thanks for sharing a great post, look forward to reading more in the future.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Exercise & Fitness =-.
Sarah,
I hope you visit the site often and build your vocabulary and donate rice for the hungry.
What a fantastic idea this is. I will go and spread the word. Thanks!
Jane,
I haven’t been there in a while, and I need to go back and do this more often.
The vocabulary quizzes are fun even if you have a good vocabulary. The levels of difficulty go up to 50, but they say few people go beyond 48. I thought I had a good vocabulary, but I haven’t got to 48 yet.
Hi Cindy,
I’ve been subscribing to your feed for a while, but I don’t go to the blog unless I want to comment or read comments.
Thanks for spreading the word on Free Rice.
amomandmore,
I’m glad you found my site. It would be interesting to know the link your son sent you that led you here.
Best wishes on your new blogging venture.
Thank you for participating in Free Rice.
legbamel,
Thanks for bringing Free Rice to my attention in your post.
Thanks for letting me know how you found me. I enjoyed visiting your site.
Thanks, Jeanne. I try to remember to click every day but confess I often get overwhelmed with all I have to do and don’t get to it. But it does take such a little time that I try to do it often.
Glad you like it. It’s fun and educational and certainly supports a worthy cause.