Charity

Unfortunately, it's not going to be in the cards for us to give much this year.

Past (and future favorites):
* American Cancer Society
* American Red Cross
* Humane Society
* Deafness Research (my mother-in-law is deaf, so this is personal)
* American Foundation for AIDS Research
* My sorority, Pi Beta Phi (they give out scholarships)
* ASPCA

And last year, the 9/11 Foundation (at least, I think that's what it was called).

I am too poor to give anything monetarily meaningful to charity.

Contributions that I make:
My Church
FoodBank (where I'm on the board)
2nd HarvestFoodbank
YMCA
Boys & Girls Club
Local School Districts
American Cancer Society
Diabetes Assoc.
MS Society (we have one of the highest rates of MS in the Country)
United Way

My favorite charity had always been the United Way. I'd given generously to them through work for many years. But after all I've been reading and hearing about their mismanagement of funds, I decided not to this year.

So, what I'm doing is sort of "my own thing." Our company adopted a family for Christmas this year. Certain families who are down on their luck apply through the local Kiwanis Club to be adopted. I gave monetarily to it, and am going to help do the shopping for gifts the kids in the family want. We also have a food drive going at work for this family which I will give to.

I buy something from kids who come to the door - Girl Scouts, school projects, etc.

I've decided to give when I see something that looks worthwhile to me. That way, I know for sure it's being used in a good way.

Oh I forgot not recognized as an official charity - I give\buy items to help and assist the people I have come to know and love(from the 5 mission trips there) on the Baja Califirnia,Mexico.

Right now we are in the process of getting a young boy to the Shriners Hospital by the border, you can see the email on the Espanol discusion.

Husker, reading your post reminded me, I give to the local Food Bank also. I hate the thought of people going hungry in this "land of plenty."

As a nonprofit veteran, I have a long list for many reasons...
Solutions at Work, Cambridge, MA. Grassroots advocacy "solutions" for the Homeless by the homeless and formerly homeless. I volunteered there for awhile doing PR and fund raising research.
Spare Change/HEP, Cambridge, MA, Boston's newspaper of the homeless community. I've been subscribing for over ten years, and also learned all more about it, behind the sceens if you will, voluteering for Solutions (they are both located in the same church basement).
Bread & Jams, Cambridge, MA, Homeless outreach 365 days a year, advocacy center, again learned about them via Solutions, they are also in that same church.
Other worthy organizations I regularly give to:
The Italian Home for Children, Jamaica Plain, MA.
The Glory Hole (shelter), Juneau, Alaska
Bread of Life (soup kitchen) Malden, MA
National MS Society. A dear friend of mine has MS.
Through the Flower, nonprofit organization affilated with feminist artist Judy Chicago.
Others I try to give to when I can:
Jane Addams/Hull House, Chicago, IL
Globe Santa, Boston, MA
Elizabeth Cady Stanton Trust, which holds a collection of sufferage memorabilia, I'm currently volunteering for them doing fund raising research.
The Boston Cure Project, is a new organization searching for MS cure and connecting people. I've recently contacted them as well about volunteering.
Sadly, so many good causes out there, only so much time and money to go around...

FYI I'll keep you posted
In the incorporating stage of a Community Development Corp., to start a Community Center.
(on this volunteer stuff is one of my hobbies)

oooh, thanks for the great locallist of charities, edithdoll! I do buy the spare change from the guys with the official tags, on a regular basis.

Don't do charity things per se except for projects with the Guam Chamber of Commerce and the Guam Contractor's Association. Donate alot of my personal time for community projects especially Habitat for Humanity. I have a contractors license that I need to use somehow, since I have not built anything for a while. Encourage my staff to donate their time to community projects as well, which I am proud to say that they have done really well in this regard.

Just today, I had a ball picking out toys at WalMart. Ended up with six or eight bags of stuff. Haven't decided which organization to take it all to yet. Maybe "Toys for Tots." Have to decide by Friday. I've got boxes of clothes and household items packed up to take to the Goodwill this weekend. I prefer to give items after making a cash donation to the Red Cross after 9/11 and hearing later on about how that money was diverted and screwed around with.

ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Amnesty International (big agencies)

Union Gospel Mission, a lending group for small, minority businesses, the art museum, and a few others (locals)

The ARC, a national organization which lobbies for people with developmental disabilities.
ASPCA
The Southern Poverty Law Center.
The Nature Conservancy.
Local homeless shelters.
The local food bank.
Shoreline Alliance for the Arts in the New Haven area.
NY and CT public tv and NPR
Amnesty International