by Rachel Green

Created on: May 15, 2009

Being charitable and improving ones' erudition can be done simultaneously on FreeRice.com. Just imagine: not even spending a dime or leaving home and bringing about real, powerful change! There is a genuine, altruistic opportunity when visiting FreeRice.com. The website works with the United Nations to end hunger.

The ability to raise money for a cause without writing a check is a revolutionary idea. It unites all potential donors, including the donor who would generally not donate due to not having enough money or the donor who would rather participate instead of giving money. Either way, everyday, rice is being donated and people are being helped.

Rice is donated by winning games. In fact, 65,042,890 grains of rice were donated on 5/14/09. Also, over 64 billion grains of rice were donated to date. FreeRice.com states on the bottom of the homepage, the total amount of grains donated the day before, and the total as a whole.

HOW TO PLAY

FreeRice.com asks a question and gives four answers. The player tries to pick the correct answer, by clicking it. With each correct answer, 10 grains of rice are donated. If a player gets an incorrect answer, the question is repeated a couple of rounds later. A player can choose from six subjects:

Art

- Famous Paintings

Chemistry

- Chemistry Symbols (Basic)

- Chemistry Symbols (Full List)

English

- English Grammar

- English Vocabulary

Geography

- Identify Countries on the Map

- World Capitals

Language Learning

- French

- German

- Italian

- Spanish

Math

- Basic Math (Pre-Algebra)

- Multiplication Table

From FreeRice.com's Press Page:

Feeling guilty about wasting time on computer solitaire? Join the growing guilt-free multitude at FreeRice.com, an online game with redeeming social value.

- USA Today

USA Today, hit it right on the head. So often, time flies by when people are online reading blogs or playing other games. The last thing someone should feel is guilt, especially when they are just playing a game. At least with FreeRice.com, they are accumulating something useful, not just points on a screen. And, as that rice grain score climbs, it's harder to stop! The user feels like, "Keep it going!" Not only do they want to raise more money for the hungry, they want to learn more and, as the Kansas City Star mentions below, it can be a little addictive.

Addictive, yes. But . . . each correct answer results in the donation of rice to help feed the hungry around the globe. Perhaps that qualifies the game as a good addiction . . . one with redeeming qualities, something that's, oh, didactic and edifying.

- Kansas City Star

All FreeRice.com information is property of FreeRice.com; All Rights Reserved. Quotes from USA Today and Kansas City Star taken from FreeRice.com Press Page, linked in article.

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