The Donor House: Lewis: Charities and Changing the World

[k_a_webb]

Written for LJ user ysabetwordsmith’s prompt: A vampire wanting to make a donation to charity, and the charity not wanting to accept it.

Lewis tapped his fingers on the table, staring at the list of charities he’d written down. After ringing a couple of them he’d come to the conclusion that none of them wanted his money, even though he had plenty of it, probably because he was a vampire. He hadn’t asked either of them, so he wasn’t entirely sure, so the next charity he rang, which would be the last one, he would ask. It seemed the most likely reason. Everyone knew what he was thanks to the donor house. Normally it wasn’t a bad thing. Occasionally he wondered if his life would have been easier if he’d never agreed to help Nick and Issac.

Picking up the receiver, Lewis shook his head. There had never been a reason for him to not help them and he believed in the house as much as they did. It had been the right thing to do. Other vampires had come to him asking about the house and how to set one up, so he hoped that there would be at least another couple of houses created before long. Being a part of something that could change the world for the better was more than he could ever have dreamed of doing with his immortal life.

With his free hand Lewis tapped in the number of an animal charity and waited for an answer. “Good morning,” an out of breath female voice said after several minutes of waiting. “I’m Sheila. How may I help you?”

“I was hoping to make a donation.”

“Can I take your name?”

“Lewis Webster.”

There was a long silence. Lewis tried not to sigh, because he knew exactly what was going to come next. “I’m sorry,” Sheila finally replied, “we cannot accept a donation from you.”

“For what reason?”

Another long silence followed. “Company policy,” she answered quietly, “dictates that we won’t accept donations of any kind from vampires.” She breathed deeply. “I’m sorry, Mr Webster. There may come a time when company policy changes, but I don’t think it will happen any time soon.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

Without waiting for Sheila to reply Lewis hung up, feeling more confused than angry. Even after all the work they’d done with the house there were people who still didn’t trust any vampire. Sighing, he thought about something Alice had said, during one of their many talks, about how they could make things easier for the donors once they left the house. Loading up his computer he started searching for charities that accepted donations from vampires and was unsurprised to find that there wasn’t any.

It had only been a couple of years since the house opened and Lewis knew that everything took time, but there were things he could do that might make a difference. He picked up a pen, one that Alice had given him, opened one of the many notebooks he had scattered around, and started making notes. A number of shops were up for sale around the house that he could purchase. Setting up his own charity was a possibility. They were things he could have already done, but it hadn’t been the right time. With the first donor house open, and other vampires wanting to open their own, the time had come.

Mirrored from K. A. Jones Writing.

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[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

No typos found.

It's hard to believe that ALL charities have the no-vampire-donors policy. They're basically organized begging; they subsist solely on the generosity of donors. It's easy to believe that big charities -- the ones that would turn up first in a search -- would be that way because they can readily get money. But there are thousands of tiny charities scratching and scraping for every penny they can possibly get, and they cannot afford to turn down donations. Lewis is wealthy now, so he might not be aware of those; but Donor House is full of brokeass humans who will.

Think battered women's shelters, local charities that help drug addicts, no-kill animal shelters, etc. Since you're using a local-to-you building as inspiration for the Donor House, I suggest opening your phonebook to look for the smallest charities. Cross off all the global and national ones; don't go larger than regional, and honestly local is better. Write down what the small charities have as their causes. That should give you ideas.

We had this problem with a Pagan event once, where the charities wouldn't agree to accept donations. It was really frustrating. But some other events found charities that would.

*ponder* There's Echoes of Alexandria; I bet they're connected with the local adult literacy program. Those are usually strapped for cash and books both. And sometimes a recommendation from a friend can get your foot in the door where nothing else will.

I'd really like to see more of this.