Thursday 26 July 2012

38 degrees to start an avalanche

Did you now that 38 degrees is said to be the critical angle at which a bank of snow can become an avalanche?

38 degrees - the angle required to start an avalanche.
38 Degrees - help start an avalanche!

38 Degrees is also the name of a campaigning organisation with over 1 million members, working across party-political divides for just causes. As they say in their FAQ page:

Is 38 Degrees connected to a political party?
Definitely not. We are not connected with any political parties, and are funded by donations from members. Our independence means that we can campaign on issues that we feel passionately about and that we decide on together. We are driven by issues and outcomes, and judge all politicians by the same standards.

I like that!

I'm one of the million members and I regularly take part in their campaigns and make donations towards their costs.  I look at it as being worth so much more than putting a donation into the collection plate at church every Sunday!  (I haven't been doing that for several years now - and even when I did do it I tended to think that it was going to the wrong causes!)

Donations come from all over the UK to support their work.  Do they make a real difference?  It is hard to measure success, but I would like to think that they punch above their weight in UK.

Nolympic tax dodges! 38 degrees.
Nolympic tax dodges!

One of their successful recent campaigns was against the tax dodging options open to the companies who sponsor the Olympic Games.  The UK public have already paid much too much to fund this financial 'black hole'.  Our campaign has shamed the CEOs of most of those companies into a positively ethical position.

If you are in UK, why not sign up for their e-mails, and have YOUR say!

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