Blog Action Day.

These days, many big bands are taking up a charity cause. Fall Out Boy promotes Invisible Children, while Jack's Mannequin supports the efforts of 11:11 AM. It may seems like just a trendy thing to do, but there are real benefits and consequences to your actions that are taken.

This year's Blog Action Day theme is poverty, and it's really an important one. Thousands of people around the world live in extreme poverty that is far beyond what most people in first-world countries can imagine. Poverty is also often the root of other life-threatening problems like sanitation and hunger.

A lot of people say, "What difference will my actions make?" when it comes to global issues. You may not think you're making a difference, but if you and a thousand other people begin to change your actions, we WILL be able to see the difference. Even something as small as trying to buy fair trade goods will help. You can even write to your local political figures and urge them to vote for laws that will make a difference. This action will be especially important in this election year. We have the power to vote for an administration that could potentially begin to eradicate poverty in our lifetimes.

So take a minute out of your day and donate some money to a charity that fights poverty, or to write your elected officials and remind them of this enormous issue. If we start now, we can work our way up to making a huge difference in our world.