Regular readers understand by now Bitcoin’s ability to facilitate direct charitable action.

BitGive is a great example of this power: They raised the BTC equivalent of US$4,850 for Save the Children’s efforts after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines last November.

So is Sean’s Outpost: They raised enough money to buy park space in Pensacola, Florida, where the local homeless could peacefully go without the threat of harassment from cops or anyone else.

We all know what Bitcoin enables us to do, but that still never diminishes the warm fuzziness that comes from seeing people help others in need.

A week ago, a redditor in the Philippines named /u/Godfreee posted a campaign to raise money for four-month-old Aislinn Wish, who was diagnosed with the rare liver disease biliary atresia and given a year or two to live unless she received a transplant.

That procedure can cost upward of US$100,000, which would be an obstacle for families anywhere, the Philippines included.

A week later, the donation wallet sits at 3.3 BTC at the time of writing.

“We suggested Bitcoin donations [to her family] to add to their slow-growing fund raising, and they were very pleasantly surprised that in a matter of days, some generous Bitcoiners from the Philippines has raised a modest amount that would have taken quite longer using traditional means,” /u/Godfreee wrote.

The family posted a thank you note on Wednesday.

Bitcoin Donations

“Donating with Bitcoin is so easy,” /u/Godfreee wrote. “We dream of the day when, instead of useless Facebook ‘likes,’ each person can do micro-donations for a worthy cause every time they use social media. That would be a very powerful tool that can take advantage of the utility of Bitcoin's micro-transaction capabilities.”

When we spoke to M.K. Lords of Bitcoin Not Bombs and Sean’s Outpost last month, she said something similar:

Bitcoin has allowed people to be fed instantly, as the funds are quick to arrive and easy to be turned into cash for food. It's also helped homeless people accumulate funds through working for Bitcoin so that they can get into homes — so far 10 people in the last year have made it into homes.

Bitcoin is also great for a wide variety of activism even globally. Fr33 Aid helped hundreds of people in the Philippines through Bitcoin donations, and the immediacy of the funds allowed them to help people quickly while PayPal was still trying to prevent funds from being transferred. When you can send value to someone anywhere in the world, you can be engaged in direct action helping that person. I envision a future where this is the norm for how we help each other.