SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - En esta temporada la gente de Michigan es abrumada con solicitudes de donaciones de fin de año. Los expertos dicen que vale la pena que usted haga la tarea antes de donar, para asegurarse de que el dinero que tanto le cuesta ganar no caiga en manos de los defraudadores.

Hay muchas personas que donan al final del año una buena cantidad de dinero para sus causas favoritas. Y como esto lo saben bien los artistas del fraude, durante esta temporada se aplican a su máximo.

Jo Rosen, directora de Estate and Assets Services (Servicios de Bienes y Activos) de la American Cancer Society (Sociedad Americana de Cáncer), dice que si algún extraño le pide una donación anormal para una obra desconocida a la que aparentemente le está yendo bien, primero tome la precaución de verificarla.

"Siempre es bueno ir a su sitio de internet, buscarlos en el Charity Navigator e incluso llamar por teléfono."

Rosen afirma que las obras reconocidas siempre están bien dispuestas a darle toda la información que usted necesite para donar inteligentemente. También varias organizaciones como Charity Navigator, Guidestar y el Better Business Bureau publican información importante, incluso qué porcentaje del dinero de donaciones es destinado a gasto administrativo y cuánto se invierte en los servicios directos.

Rosen considera importante enterarse de cómo gastan las obras su dinero y cuánto va a la causa que a usted le importa.

"Todo es información pública, así que siempre que una obra no haga pública esa información, yo me preocuparía."


También comenta que la American Cancer Society (Sociedad Americana de Cáncer) y otras más tienen servicios gratuitos para ayudar a los donadores a entender las reglas vigentes del IRS. Por ejemplo, dice que mucha gente mayor se está dando cuenta de que pueden dar una buena cantidad de dinero anualmente, y eso les permite dar y recibir al mismo tiempo.

"Le estás dando tu dinero a una obra de beneficencia y luego puedes ganar un interés que es mucho mayor que el de un certificado de depósito bancario."

Rosen dice que hay muchas maneras de contribuir inteligentemente. Por ejemplo, uno siempre puede hacer voluntariado en su obra de beneficencia preferida. Algunas personas mayores que quieren dejar un legado pueden reinvertir sus contribuciones del IRS a obras de caridad, sin pagar impuestos. Sin importar cuánto dinero done usted en esta temporada, lo mejor será siempre investigar antes la organización a la que lo destinará.

La información sobre las opciones para donar está en http://tinyurl.com/73pbfa9. El portal de Charity Navitor es http://charitynavigator.org.



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Farmworkers in South Carolina and across the U.S. face scorching heat with little protection at the federal and state level. However, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee is taking steps to enhance worker safety.

The group is ramping up heat protection guidelines for migrant workers in the South through an existing rule. Originally negotiated in 2006 with the North Carolina Growers Association, the rule aimed to address heat-related incidents. Now, it is being strengthened to improve conditions for more than 9,000 farmworkers.

Baldemar Velasquez, president of the committee, believes the efforts are key in safeguarding workers where legal measures do not.

"The problem with legislation, whether it's the federal or state, it takes forever," Velasquez asserted. "Enforcement is always an issue because we're not talking about big factories with a lot of workers. We're talking very remote labor camps, isolated, and so it's important that workers know how to take action on their own."

He noted under the new guidelines, workers who are a part of their union take heat safety into their own hands. The rules say if it is getting close to 85 degrees and workers have symptoms such as dizziness or nausea, they should take a break in the shade and drink water, no matter what the boss said. When it hits 95 degrees or more, breaks are supposed to happen every couple of hours.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 67 people died from heat-related deaths from 2016 through 2020 in South Carolina.

Mario Vargas, lead organizing development coordinator at the Campaign for Migrant Worker Justice, shared his 15 years of firsthand experience. He vividly depicted the challenges faced by workers, such as tall crops blocking the wind and constant pressure from employers.

Recognizing the urgent need for change, Vargas and his organization are teaming up with the committee to go beyond guidelines. They are prioritizing education.

"Because if you say, 'Oh, we got another 100 feet to go so we can finish the row,' you might not make it to the end of the row," Vargas pointed out. "You need to stop and find some shade and drink some water. We let them know their rights, that they have a right."

The group will be teaching farmworkers about the new guidelines, signs of heat stress, how to stay hydrated and when to seek medical help. Vargas added they will also have support channels to report issues or pushback to ensure their well-being is not compromised.

Last week, Walmart became the latest major retailer to retreat from providing direct health-care service by announcing closures of all its health clinics and virtual health-care operations.

However, Florida's health centers say they are ready to fill the gap.

Florida is home to most of the soon-to-be-shuttered health centers - 23 of the 51 centers are now winding down operations in the Sunshine State, where they offer various services, including medical, dental, and behavioral health care.

Benjamin Browning - vice president and COO of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers - said many have tried to figure out the complexities of delivering health-care services, which doesn't always work.

He said the current concern is ensuring displaced patients, often in rural underserved areas, can still access care.

"Fortunately," said Browning, "the community health centers are positioned throughout the state to be able to welcome those patients, to encourage those patients to come and visit and receive their primary-care services."

In a statement, Walmart cited the challenging health-care reimbursement landscape and rising operating costs as reasons for the closures.

Additionally, Walgreens is closing 160 VillageMD clinics, Amazon is cutting jobs at One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy, and CVS Health plans to shutter dozens of pharmacies in Target stores.

Browning said their model of providing care is embedded in their name - building community.

When a patient enters their facility, they might also be connected to additional services. He said the model is financially challenging, but they've been working to perfect it.

"There is a level of streamlining," said Browning. "There is a level of efficiency that is maximized to the extent possible, within the health centers to provide for those patients that can and cannot afford to pay the full bill."

Walmart expects the closures to occur within three months and will now focus its health business on its nearly 4,600 pharmacies and more than 3,000 vision centers across the United States.

Community Health Centers are in all of Florida's 67 counties, serving patients in more than 800 locations - including dozens of mobile units and school-based sites statewide.

Michigan farmers are responding to the new Avian Flu "Extraordinary Emergency" order from MDARD, Michigan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

New safety guidelines must be in place by this Wednesday that affect all dairy and poultry operations in the state.

The guidelines include the designation of a biosecurity manager, establishing a perimeter that limits access to livestock, and implementing cleaning and disinfection procedures at those access points.

Chief Medical Executive for the state of Michigan, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, said the most severe cases of the Bird Flu seem to be in poultry.

"Poultry don't recover well from this virus," said Bagdasarian. "This is a highly pathogenic virus in poultry and the dairy cows do tend to recover, even though their milk production is slowed down."

M-DARD first detected Avian Flu in Michigan dairy cattle on March 29 of this year. The disease has since been detected in more dairy herds and commercial poultry flocks in 7 counties.

The emergency guidelines also include farms maintaining a record of vehicles and people who cross access points.

Regarding the health risks for humans, Bagdasarian said there is some positive news amidst the crisis.

"We had a number of workers who had been exposed, but very few have been symptomatic," said Bagdasarian. "And no one who has been symptomatic and tested for the virus, had tested positive. So, that's really good news. "

The Food and Drug Administation continues to advise against drinking raw milk and recommends that the dairy industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products.



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