![triple.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUHizwSw89HqnuY6ztSPAboJ6Paqj4cBV5AnUj7ojY8Ns/triple.png)
[I will personally triple the value of upvotes on this post in order to make a positive difference]

Dear fellow Steemians,

If you have the privilege of an education, access to internet, food in your fridge, access to some form of motorised transport and a roof over your head, you are better off than at least 75% of people in this world. Let that sink in for a moment.

I am a white male with a university education and have had the privilege of going all around the world, having not just travelled but even lived in  8 countries. In January last year during a one month escapade in Bali I realized I had to give something back. I was not motivated to make more money to simply get a nice car or to buy an expensive house. Designer clothes and jewellery didn't excite me as they may have in the past. I reached a stagnant point in my life where I realized that the only way I could move forward was by dedicating my life to helping those who truly need the help.

That is why every year I donate my birthday to **effective** charities which [use every dollar spent to the best of their superior capabilities](https://www.charitynavigator.org/) to reduce suffering. Last year I made a campaign donating to charity:water, aptly titled "First of Many" which raised 493 USD, 200 USD of those being my own money, which [you can see here](https://my.charitywater.org/frank-howard-rowley/first-of-many).

This year I decided to structure the campaign differently by matching any donations made by others up to a cap of 500 USD, with the goal of raising at least 1000 USD. I chose to donate to [The Humane League](https://donate.thehumaneleague.com/fundraise?fcid=1032411), one of the top 3 animal charities according to [Animal Charity Evaluator](https://animalcharityevaluators.org/charity-reviews/all-charity-reviews/). 




There were two main reasons which led me choosing the protection of animals as a worthy cause:

1) Less than 1% of donations are donated towards animals as opposed to humans.
2) 90% of the money which is donated towards helping animals goes to charities which support local animal shelters which represent some of the least effective ways off decreasing suffering for animals.

![animal_stats.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRiFkAkB7M3JEyLz2JWYnijn8vFXcmXQBN1j4j45dv3WT/animal_stats.png)

These facts were obtained by watching probably the [most informative and revealing video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MzgPtyJOQk&feature=share) I've watched explaining how badly animals need your help.

Furthermore I chose [The Humane League](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHOQt3RMCow&feature=youtu.be) over Mercy for Animals or The Good Food Institute because they focus more on changing policies at the corporate level which I deem as necessary if we are to see any progress, considering that without these policies set in place, money hungry factory farm owners will not think twice about putting a pig in a cage barely a few cm wider than the animal itself, simply because it saves money

![PIGS.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdZoaDWoBjSRNNqRoyvbdNkj6exYKTk84iAT7cvqBTgFW/PIGS.jpg)
[Image source](http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2012/10/oct-26-photo-brief-islams-feast-of-the-sacrifice-zombies-in-berlin-halloween-at-the-zoo-pregnant-pigs-in-a-cage/)

I [launched the campaign](https://donate.thehumaneleague.com/fundraise?fcid=1032411) and already donated 200 USD of my own money, 100 of which my parents give to me every year for my birthday and 100 of which I matched from my own money (the donation page says 210.94 USD because I covered the transfer fees). If you do not have much voting power on Steem but want to double the impact of your money spent, donate to [this Humane League campaign page](https://donate.thehumaneleague.com/fundraise?fcid=1032411) and I will match whatever donation is made up to a cap of 500 USD (currently the amount I matched is 259 USD, leaving another 241 USD worth of donations for me to match).

Based on the title of this post many of you may be wondering how I will triple the value of your upvotes. Come August 8th, the day of my birthday, I will personally donate whatever dollar value received from this post and add on double that amount. Hence if you upvote this post by one dollar worth of Steem, you will get triple the value since I will donate 3 USD to The Humane League. I will donate up to 200 USD meaning that if this post gets more than 100 USD worth of donations, I will donate up to 200 USD of my own money in addition to whatever is raised by this post being upvoted towards [Humane League campaign page](https://donate.thehumaneleague.com/fundraise?fcid=1032411).

Let me know if you have and questions or concerns. 

If you love animals like I do and want to help them, here is some great advice from the [super informative video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MzgPtyJOQk&feature=share) I mentioned earlier:

![What_you_can_do.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRLVU9NRzCPjHmf6iEGRSd1aFfZobxMoZXfoEHhQ1ocAL/What_you_can_do.png)

*See you at the top*,
[hooked2thechain](https://steemit.com/@blockchainttmft)

PS. While I can't give proof that I will indeed donate the money, I hope you come to the conclusion based on all the information given that it would be ludicrous for me to run off with whatever few dollars I'll likely earn from upvotes on this post. You can also read my [Facebook post about the campaign](https://www.facebook.com/frank.ferriss/posts/10155460164013476?pnref=story).