Flickr is a great place for sharing your photos and discovering talented photographers. But I never thought of it as a place for philanthropy until recently when I came across rebekka’s touching photo and commentary about how becoming a parent had at first made her turn a blind eye to the hurt of the world. Being a parent myself, I understand this feeling. And not because I don’t care about the troubles of the world — hunger and poverty, war, pollution. But as rebekka says on Flickr, “it scares me too much …. It scares me to think of what future my children will inherit.”

But rebekka, who has quite a following on Flickr, has taken it a step further and has started a huge discussion after several things prompted her to take a serious look at what the world was becoming (for her it was watching Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11″, being invited to join the Flickr group speak up for peace and signing up to be a member of Amnesty International.)

The discussion going on in her comments is about how Flickr members can make a difference. Some have suggested donating their prints to auctions, publishing a book of Flickr photos or simply asking Flickr members to donate a dollar to add photos to a set to raise funds for a good cause.

As someone who has worked for various non-profits/charities for many years, I am always excited when someone with a large following says something about making change in the world and people listen and start talking.

Maybe the folks at Flickr will actually jump on this and it will pan out. Hopefully this (or something like it) will prompt us to stop talking and start doing. And if it making a difference involves taking pictures, I can imagine a lot of people wouldn’t mind getting involved.

As rebekka said, “A person tends to forget simple things like the warmth of a child’s hug, a cozy home, food, a roof over one’s head, living in a peaceful environment.. when one has those things.”

Let’s not forget.